Fa A Bhialainn Ann
by Veralidaine
Summary: MWP&P. Uhm...A new girl comes to Hogwarts *ducks flying vegetables* She's not a Mary Sue! She has faults, I promise! R&R, por favor.
1. Parts 1 & 2

Disclaimer: I only own a few people, everything else is J.K. Rowling's. I'm not THAT creative...  
  
A/N: No, this isn't a new part. I just felt like posting all these at once because I have friends at   
school that want to read it and it's a real pain to try to track down all of these separate parts. Plus,  
I want you readers to know that no, I've not died, I've just had an EXTREME case of writers' block. In   
fact, I'm still suffering...  
  
And there's also the fact that there's a companion to this series, written by Ebony Foxfire. Her pen   
name used to be "Rhiannon" but she's messing with my mind or something. Plus there are like, five other  
Rhiannons. So she's changed it. I will yell at her at school tomorrow; don't worry.  
  
So ANYWAY to prevent confusion, (Before I knew that Her Highness had changed her pen name--I wouldn't   
have bothered. It's already confusing.) I thought I ought to organize. I dunno...I felt the need to   
utilize my organizational skills (yeah, right...). *shrugs* Here it is, anyway.   
  
Reviews are nice, by the way. I won't beg, but I DO love reviews...  
  
Okay, here's the story. The title's in Gaelic. According to the soundtrack to "The Secret of Roan Inish"  
it means, "There is Beauty There."   
  
Okay, I am SERIOUSLY babbling...  
  
Fa A Bhialainn Ann  
Chapters 1 & 2  
by Veralidaine  
  
Part 1  
  
Fiona McLellan slumped down in her seat on the Hogwarts Express, sighing. This was going to be   
an interesting year. She brushed back her wavy hair, dark red-brown in the sunlight from the window.   
Suddenly remembering, she waved at her Ma and Da below. They waved back, and Fi felt a slight lurch in   
her chest. She would NOT cry...  
  
Gray-blue eyes filled with tears and she quickly rubbed them, hiding it in a yawn. How could this   
happen? She knew that the Irish schools for Witchcraft were not nearly as advanced as Hogwarts, but now,   
to receive a proper education, she was stuck going to school with those snotty British Prigs. All her   
life, when she visited London, all she ever got was funny looks. It was obvious that she was Irish--her   
pale skin and dark hair were a clue, but her accent was the dead giveaway.   
  
As if starting a new school in a new country for sixth year wasn't hard enough; she had to be mocked for   
being a muggle-born, Irish farm girl. And that was nothing next to her big secrets. When her Ma and Da   
had talked to the headmaster, he had confided that they allowed--special cases--like hers. It wasn't   
like hers was anything dangerous--well, not really...Just something she could be shunned for life for.   
She couldn't help it--it was in her blood. She had no choice in that matter, and if she HAD had a   
choice, she would've gotten rid of the dreaded gene as soon as possible.   
  
The train started to pull away from the station. Once more, she rubbed her eyes frantically, sending a   
last wave to her parents. They waved back, the platform growing smaller and smaller, and then they were  
gone. Fi sighed raggedly. She would NOT cry!  
  
She jumped as the compartment door slid open. A short, slim girl of about her age stood in the doorway,  
jade-colored eyes framed by pretty, dark red hair. Next to her was a taller girl, of a more stocky   
build, with light brown hair and brown eyes, and lots of freckles. "Oh, we didn't realize this was   
occupied..."  
  
The redhead smiled. "Are you new here?"  
  
Fiona, lips sealed, nodded. It made her wince to hear the upper-class accent this redhead sported.  
  
The brunette smiled as well. "Smashing. I'm Annelle Jonson." She had a lower-class accent, maybe  
Liverpudlian?   
  
"And I'm Lily Andrews," the redhead smiled. "What's your name?"  
  
Fiona, resigned to her fate (These two seemed so nice; what would they do once they found out she was   
what she was?), cleared her throat. "Fiona McLellan," she said, Irish accent sounding dreadfully strong   
next to the other girl's high-class British.   
  
The brunette--Annelle, was it?--gave her a funny look for a moment, then said, "Are you...Scottish or   
something?"  
  
"No, you prat," Lily said, grinning amiably. "She's Irish! Wonderful, now I have some company! My   
Grandparents on Mum's side were from Ireland. I love the way you all talk."  
  
Fiona's pale skin flushed. "Really? I was worried that..."  
  
"We'd shun you or something?" Lily laughed. "Fat chance. I don't shun anyone without a very good reason,  
and being Irish isn't on my list."  
  
Annelle grinned. "Mine either. You just took me by surprise-I thought you were British. So, Fiona--"  
  
"Fi."  
  
"-Fi, then. What's Ireland like?"  
  
"Oh, it's wonderful," Fi said softly. "Green and lovely, and the sea is beautiful. I used to go swimming   
every day." She stopped herself there, scolding herself for babbling.  
  
"Yeah," Lily said dreamily. "I've never been to Ireland before. James says that-" She stopped abruptly,   
blushing, and Annelle laughed loudly.   
  
"James Potter is Lily's--er--love bunny. Yes, I think that's the correct term. I do believe they've   
already begun planning their honeymoon." Annelle snickered, then whispered quite audibly, "They even   
know what kind of cake they're having at their wedding!"  
  
"I do not!" Lily protested feebly, elbowing Annelle in the ribs.  
  
The compartment door, which had been slid shut a moment before by Annelle, slid open again. Three boys   
appeared in the doorway. The tallest, who had dark eyes framed by black hair and a somewhat swarthy   
complexion, glanced at Fi and then turned to Annelle, nodding his head at her. "Who's this, then?"  
  
Annelle sighed. "Well, she's right there; why don't you ask her?"  
  
The other boys were staring at her. One of them, with unruly black hair and glasses, gave Lily a  
questioning look. She smiled back at him, and Fi had a feeling that this was probably the James Potter   
they'd discussed earlier. The last boy, who was standing behind the other two, was taller than James   
with dark brown hair and large, brown eyes. He gave Fi a curious stare and, when no one made a move to   
introduce themselves, stepped forward, holding out a hand for her to shake. "Hi. I'm Remus Lupin."  
  
The tallest stepped up next to him, grinning broadly. "I'm Sirius Black."  
  
Finally, the one who Lily had guessed was James stepped forward. Sure enough: "I'm James Potter. Good to  
meet you...er..."  
  
"Fiona--call me Fi," Fi said warmly, forgetting her shame over her accent.   
  
Sirius broke into a grin again--he seemed to do that a lot. "Are you Irish?"  
  
Fi nodded shyly. "Aye."  
  
James smiled warmly. "Well, welcome to England, then. Is it much different here?"  
  
Fi nodded, sighing deeply. "Much. Everyone stares when they hear me talk, and not to mention I'm Muggle-  
born, so I get enough trouble as i'tis."  
  
Lily shook her head. "I'm Muggle-born. Don't let it worry you."  
  
Sirius nodded vigorously. "Yeah. So, what house are you in?"  
  
"Well, I don't quite know yet," Fi responded. "I hope I end up in Gryffindor, though Ravenclaw doesn't   
sound bad."  
  
Lily nodded. "You don't want Slytherin, though. Trust me."  
  
Everything became silent and James put an arm around Lily's shoulders. Lily cleared her throat. "I'm in   
Slytherin."  
  
Fi tried not to look as surprised as she felt. Her? A SLYTHERIN? Fi had heard--to put it lightly--  
interesting information about Slytherin house.  
  
Remus cleared his throat, obviously eager to change the subject. "So, ah...D'you mind us sitting  
with you, Fi?"  
  
"Not at all," Fi replied, scooting over so that the others could squeeze in--Remus next to her, Sirius   
on his other side, and across from them Annelle, then Lily and James. Their discussion wandered from   
subject to subject over the next few hours, finally stopping as the conductor announced that they had   
arrived.  
  
***  
  
Fi pulled on her Hogwarts robes and nervously managed to get off the train and to the school. As she   
gawked at the beautiful and gigantic entrance hall, a boy shoved past her, pushing her forcefully into   
the wall. She turned, furious, and brought her hands for one moment before quickly putting them back at   
her sides. She wouldn't get herself expelled here...Not for that--not like last time.  
  
Instead she called after the boy. "Oi, you!"  
  
A pale boy who looked about her age turned around and glared. "Yeah?"  
  
"You near gave me a concussion-aren't you going to apologize?"  
  
The boy gave her a moment's stare, then burst out laughing. "Hey, Severus! Aaron! Come listen to this   
wench!"  
  
Two other boys strolled over casually. One of them was much, much taller than Fiona and had greasy black   
hair and a hooked nose. Black eyes flashed threateningly first at her, then to the pale boy, who was   
still laughing. The other had a rather flat face, sort of like a pug dog, and was surveying her through   
small blue eyes with the utmost revulsion. "What's so interesting, Lucious?"  
  
"Would you repeat that?" the pale one-apparently called Lucious-managed to gasp out between sneering   
laughter.  
  
"I said," Fi growled, "Apologize. You knocked me right into that wall and it hurt. Apologize now."  
  
Pug-Face laughed loudly. "Ha! So, not only do they now allow Mudbloods in now, but Irish Mudbloods!   
That's a laugh!"  
  
Fi was near exploding. She could see them now--her magic was stirred up. Pinpricks of light, buzzing   
about. One flew in close and she saw its minute little blue eyes under silvery curls, then it flitted   
away again with a flick of its blue-silver wings. She could call on the faeries-she could. She could   
make them teach these boys a lesson they'd never forget...just like last time...but she wasn't even   
sorted yet and she'd be expelled. No, she wouldn't do it. She'd stand her ground.  
  
The boy with the hooked nose rolled his eyes and sighed witheringly. "Yes, yes. That's hilarious. Can we  
leave now? I'm starved."  
  
Lucious, who was wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, nodded. "Yes, let's."  
  
Fi wasn't going to leave it at that. She wouldn't. It was stupid, but she couldn't help it. "You whisht,   
you old...you...." Unable to put it the way she wanted to in English, she converted to spouting every   
Gaelic insult she knew at this foul boy and his friends. When she'd learned it for fun back at home,   
she'd never realized how easily she could express herself in another language.   
  
He turned around. The two other boys-Pug Face and the one who was hungry-looked confused. Lucious walked   
swiftly back to her and pinned her against the wall. "Listen up real close, wench. I will not tolerate   
that kind of disrespect. Malfoys do not EVER tolerate that sort of disrespect. You watch yourself."  
  
Fi met his glare squarely. "You watch YOURSELF, Mister Malfoy. It's not a good idea to go making enemies   
with those whose powers you don't know yet." With that she brought her hands up and pushed him away as   
quickly as possible. Then she turned a corner and ran as fast as she possibly could--which wasn't very   
fast. She turned another corner and ran headlong into someone.  
  
"Whoa! Watch where you're--Fiona?"  
  
She looked up and saw Remus staring curiously down at her--she'd fallen to the floor.   
  
"I'm sorry," he said earnestly, offering her a hand up and pulling her to her feet. "What were you--"  
  
Lucious and the other boys came hurtling around the corner. "Out of the way, beast!" he shouted. "She's   
fair game!"  
  
"No, she's not," Remus replied calmly, ignoring the inquiring glance Fi had given at his being called   
"beast" for some reason. "Actually, Professor Dumbledore couldn't find her and sent me to look for her.   
I take it you're responsible for making her late? Shall I tell him that?"  
  
The hooked nose boy turned, glaring mutinously, and walked towards the Great Hall. The pug-faced one   
followed, scowling. Lucious still stood, glowering at the two of them. Remus sighed deeply. "Get a move  
on, Malfoy. I've no patience tonight. You've already lost five points from Slytherin for causing this   
young lady trouble on her first evening here." He fingered the prefect badge on his chest. "Now--d'you   
mind?"  
  
"You watch yourself, Lupin. And you, wench!"  
  
Fiona, still panting from her run, muttered a very nasty insult under her breath and turned to walk with  
Remus. He didn't say anything for a moment. Fiona sighed. "Thank you. They would've caught me."  
  
He laughed quietly. "Oh, not a problem. I'm impressed. It took me a whole hour to decide Lucious and I   
were enemies--on the Hogwarts Express, you see. Took you fifteen minutes. Well, here we are," he said,   
stopping in front of a large door. "This is it. You go in, wait until Professor Flitwick calls you, and   
then go put on the Sorting Hat. Hope you end up in Gryffindor." He gave her a smile. "Then you won't   
have to deal with those twits."  
  
She grinned and entered, standing in front of a whole hall of students. Every eye in the Great Hall was   
on her--and there must have been hundreds of people there. She looked and saw Sirius waving and Remus   
smiling. James was also smiling, but he was a tad preoccupied staring at Lily, who was also waving. Too   
soon for her taste, she heard a squeaky voice say, "And now, we have a transfer student from Dublin   
Wizarding Academy--McLellan, Fiona."   
  
Feeling a tad braver, Fi sat on the small stool and jammed the hat over her head.  
  
***  
Part 2  
***  
  
Dear Ma and Da,  
  
Life in England isn't as bad as I made it out to be. Mind, there are the occasional prats who get on my   
nerves, but so did Jonny Flynn, back home, so I guess that's normal. I've met some very nice people, but  
I'm only able to see one of them regularly. Her name's Lily, and she's in my house--Slytherin. Granted,   
I'm not too happy to be here, but I guess I'll get used to it. Eventually.  
  
That's about it. Life's not too interesting so far. The sixth years have organized a Halloween dance,   
but I don't think I'll go. Ma, don't chide me for being anti-social, please. I may go, if Lily wants me  
to. Well, I miss you and love you both. Dunk Liam in the well for me!  
  
Love from Fi  
  
  
  
Fiona re-read her letter and, nodding approvingly, folded it and handed it to her small, brown barn owl.  
"Here, Snitch, take this to Ma and Da, please." The owl gave her a look, and she sighed. "Yes, I'll   
write to Liam as well. Honestly--am I required to keep in touch with younger siblings?"  
  
Snitch gave her wrist an affectionate nip, then flapped out of the open window. Fiona sighed and rested  
her chin on her hands, gazing across the nighttime grounds. WHY had she ended up in Slytherin? Of all   
places! Well, at least she was with Lily. That was a plus.  
  
On the other hand, Lucious Malfoy, Aaron (Pug-Face) Parkinson, and Severus Snape were really getting on  
her nerves. They couldn't understand how someone like her got into Slytherin.   
  
And, honestly, neither could Fi. Occasionally, she thought it might be her bloodline, but that didn't   
necessarily confine a person to being evil! Well, not unless they WANTED to be...In which case, they   
could be VERY dangerous...  
  
Blowing a stray lock of brown hair from her face, she stopped gazing out the window and checked her   
Potions homework. Professor Blasphen, who normally favored Slytherin students, was quite harsh with her.  
Fiona had always been the "smart kid" in her other schools, and had always been excellent at all of her   
subjects. She made straight A's, or an occasional B. And Hogwarts had hit hard. Transfiguration had been  
particularly tough, as she hadn't ever been very good at it in the first place. Potions, which had   
always been somewhat simple for her, had turned out to be her worst subject yet. On the most recent   
project, an antidote for Love Potion, she had botched it badly enough to receive a D from the Professor,  
a record for any Slytherin. Lily had convinced her that her grade would improve, once she settled in and  
managed to "get into the swing of things." Fiona wasn't so sure, somehow.   
  
The events that had taken place at her last school, the day she was expelled, were enough to make Fi   
wonder if she'd ever get through school. Though her mother had told her not to worry herself over it,   
that she'd just lost control, Fi couldn't help but hate herself for it. Why, oh why did it have to be in  
her blood? Why did she have to inherit it? Couldn't Liam have inherited it? She stopped herself there,  
grimacing as she thought of what Liam would do with her powers.  
  
Sighing loudly again, she stuffed her checked and re-checked homework into her schoolbag, then stripped  
off her dressing gown and allowed herself to fall into bed. She lay there, tossing and turning for what   
seemed like hours, until she finally felt herself drifting off to sleep, though rather fitfully.  
  
***(A/N: that means a dream, 'kay? Just so you're not confused...I cannot do italics...I've tried...)  
  
Fiona walked into the small classroom, surprised as everyone shrank away from her, as though afraid of  
catching some sort of disease. Casting those nearest to her a quizzical glance, she set her books down   
on her desk and remained standing. Softly, she cleared her throat. "Uhm...Is something particularly  
interesting, or are you lot just being rude?"  
  
Jonny Flynn snorted. "Do you guys actually believe that crap? Do you think she actually can do that?"  
He gave a rather disbelieving snicker and shook his head.  
  
Fi's heart was beating faster than usual. "What d'you mean?" Did they know? How could they know? HOW?  
  
Mary O'Connell stepped forward. "So is it true?"  
  
"Is what true?" Now she was starting to get cold all over. This couldn't be good...How could they know?  
  
Mary gave her an exhasperated look. "Look, don't pretend. We all know you are."  
  
"What..." Fi protested in a whisper, not really asking anymore.  
  
"A Faery-speaker." Fiona didn't respond, so Mary pressed on: "Well, are you?"  
  
"I d-don't know--"  
  
"She told us." Jonny jerked a thumb at a small girl with sandy hair and lots of freckles. When she saw  
Fiona turn to face her, she cringed.  
  
Fiona crumbled inside. Nuala, the one friend she THOUGHT she'd had...The ONE person she'd ever told...  
Had told everyone. Fi swallowed roughly, staring at Nuala with over-bright eyes. "I..."  
  
"She IS!" one girl exclaimed. "Oh, wow..."  
  
"No, she isn't," Jonny said. "That's silly. They're all extinct, remember? Grindelwald killed them  
all off in the war!"  
  
"Well, if she is," another boy said, the hint of a somewhat cruel smile tugging at his lips, "then she   
should be able to call on the faeries right now. Right?"   
  
"Right," the others chorused, catching on.  
  
Fiona took in the students, gathering in a large circle around her, with fearful eyes. They were going  
to make her do it. They would force her...No! No, she'd practiced too much. She'd worked too hard to  
keep it under control...She couldn't give them the satisfaction of winning in this...  
  
She yelped as they started to push her back and forth within the circle, laughing cruelly and chanting,  
"Call them! Call them!"  
  
She could see the faeries now. They were flitting about the room, unseen by all those who did not wish  
to see. The lucky souls.  
  
A few of them fluttered over to her, obviously sensing her distress, as she was pushed roughly about.   
One of them, with brilliantly purple hair and orange wings, gave her a somewhat questioning look and   
landed briefly on the tip of her nose, falling as she was again shoved.  
  
Tripping over a particularly hard push, Fiona fell to the floor, and the flood of tears she'd been   
willing back suddenly broke free, streaming down her cheeks. She covered her tear-streaked face, angry   
her mother, for being the faery-speaker she was, angry at the world for having such prejudice for her  
kind, angry at whatever divine force had thought it such a joke as to make her inherit it. Anger   
coursed through her at such a level that she wasn't able to describe it. It was so liberating, the   
anger, and suddenly she was aware that no one was shoving at her any more. In fact, no one was paying  
the least bit of attention to her anymore. No, the faeries had seen to that...They'd felt her anger...  
Nuala, the traitor, was hanging from the curtain rod by her robes, while Jonny Flynn was fighting off a   
quartet of brightly colored, cackling sprites as they worked together to tie his shoelaces together,   
yank his hair out, and generally cause him to scream and flail his arms about his head. The other   
children in the class were suffering similarly.  
  
And, of course, that was the moment at which the teacher chose to come into the room.  
  
The look on her face as she took in the scene, and the numbness in Fi's brain as the woman cleared the  
Faeries with a complicated spell, allowing the other children to point the blame to Fi, was enough to   
make her burst into a fresh wave of tears again before running from the classroom.  
  
***(that would be the "end dream" signal. 'kay?)  
  
Fiona awoke, shaking and crying, in the dungeon-esque dormitory of Slytherin. One week after the ordeal,   
she'd been expelled from Dublin Academy. At the age of fifteen, she'd allowed herself to lose control  
over the one thing she shouldn't ever allow herself to lose control of. And now she might face it again.  
  
"Fi, are you okay?" Lily's voice traveled across the room, sounding groggy.  
  
"Shaddup, you twits." That was Narcissa Mueren.   
  
'Such a LOVELY girl,' Fi thought bitterly, stifling her tears. "No, Lily, I'm fine. Don't worry. Just a  
bad dream."  
  
"Sure?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
"I said, SHADDUP!"  
  
Fi threw open the curtains. "And we HEARD you, Narcussus! Honestly..."  
  
"It is NOT Narcissus, you ignorant Mu--" Narcissa abruptly stopped talking. Looking around the curtains,   
Fi saw that her throat was working, but no sound was issuing from it. A silvery laugh caught her   
attention, and Fi turned to see Lily, twirling her wand idly in her fingers.   
  
Fiona, wiping her tears away, giggled along with Lily. "Thanks."  
  
Narcissa was quite obviously trying to scream at the top of her lungs, and failing. Instead she stomped   
her feet loudly on the stone floor, making odd slapping noises. Fiona grinned and climbed back into   
bed. After about thirty seconds, the slapping noises were loudly echoing from right next to her   
curtains. She heard, over the slapping, Lily's slightly muffled voice. "Narcissa, if you don't get your  
foot-slapping little self back in bed, I'll put the body bind on you, too. You know I will."  
  
The slapping noises abruptly stopped, and Fiona grinned into her pillow, exceptionally glad for a friend  
like Lily. But could she ever tell her? She had thought she could trust Nuala, and in the end...  
  
She would just have to see what happened. As far as she was concerned at the moment, she was happy with   
her friendship as it was. Maybe someday, she would tell Lily, but until then she would just try to keep   
herself out of trouble. 


	2. Parts 3 & 4

Fa A Bhialainn Ann  
Chapters 3 & 4  
by Veralidaine  
  
Part 3  
  
Fiona sat in the high-backed armchair by the fire, trying to ignore the creepy way the shadows danced  
about the dungeon of a common room. No matter that it had been nearly two-and-a-half months since she'd  
started at Hogwarts; the Slytherin common room still managed to give her "the collywobbles," as Lily  
quite jokingly put it.  
  
Though she was hard at work solving an Arithmancy problem, she found her mind kept wandering to the   
upcoming Halloween dance. Not that she had any interest at all in going. Lily had managed to convince   
her to come along, just to see Sirius, James, and Remus, and to meet another friend of theirs, Peter  
Pettigrew.   
  
As it was, Fiona had agreed, just so long as no dancing whatsoever was involved. Lily had assured her   
that she would not have to dance if she didn't want to, but Fi suspected that before the evening was   
over, Lily would be begging her to dance with someone, "just for fun!" And Fi would probably purse her   
lips, cross her arms and legs, and be her usual anti-social self (A/N: Haha, Robyn! Sorry, inside   
joke...). Fiona sighed, scribbling down the last few numbers and cramming the rubber stopper into her  
ink bottle. Fun beyond belief...  
  
She was so lost in thought that she nearly jumped two feet in the air as someone other than Lily   
approached her chair. Recovering enough to look up, she noticed that it was the last person she'd EVER  
expect to talk to her--Severus Snape. Fiona quickly adopted her usual "Oh, it's YOU" facial expression,  
and gave an impatient "Yes?"  
  
He looked extremely uncomfortable. More uncomfortable and nervous, in fact, then Fiona ever remembered   
seeing him. There wasn't a nasty sneer playing across his lips, and for some reason the glittery black  
eyes wouldn't meet hers and instead examined the numerous cracks in the ceiling. He mumbled something   
incoherent.  
  
"Sorry?" Fiona asked, somewhat curious.  
  
"Wouldyougotothedancewime?"  
  
A wave of utter--what was it, numbness?--swept over Fi. Severus Snape had just asked her to the Halloween  
dance. Fiona shook her head, not quite sure how to take this. He looked quite pathetic, actually, and if  
her own face hadn't been burning from the embarrassment of even being ASKED to go, she'd have found the  
way he was shuffling his feet very amusing. Heck, she would have taken all the pleasure in the world in  
MOCKING him. But now she felt oddly sorry for him.  
  
"I can't, Severus. I...emm...WOULD, but I've decided not to go with anyone this time. I'm just going by  
myself, and only just 'cause Lily wants me to go. Emm...Sorry..."  
  
He made an indistinct noise in his throat and swept off somewhere into the shadows of Slytherin House.  
Fiona let out a deep breath. What had THAT been about? What had possessed him to--  
  
"Whoa..."  
  
Fi turned an exasperated look on Lily, who apparently had been standing in the nearest shady corner. "You'll   
catch flies if you don't shut your mouth."  
  
Lily obediently clamped her mouth shut and, grinning, sat in the chair next to Fiona. "Can you BELIEVE   
that? SNAPE! I mean..." She shook her head. "Who'd've thought it..."  
  
"Certainly not I," Fi muttered. "Gah, what was I supposed to say? I mean..."  
  
Lily suppressed a giggle. "What'll you do if someone you WANT to go with asks you?"  
  
"First off," Fiona muttered, flipping through her potions text, "there's no one I want to go with, as of  
now. Secondly...Well, there is no Secondly, really..." She shrugged. "I don't particularly want to do   
this, but I'm eternally grateful for the lovely hex you put on Narcissa. That was simply beautiful."  
  
Lily giggled. "Remember the--the slapping noises!"  
  
Fiona grinned, holding back laughter. "And the look on Lucious' face the next morning!"  
  
Lily bit her lip, giggling softly. "Yes, that was one of my better little deeds, wasn't it?"  
  
"Certainly. So, I may as well ask: What do I have to wear to this thing?"  
  
***  
  
It was Halloween night, and Lily was adding the finishing touches to Fiona. Dressed in plain, deep blue  
dress robes, Fiona was seated on Lily's bed in their dormitories. Narcissa, in her usual black, was  
applying layer after layer of make-up, while the other girls giggled over the boys they were soon to   
meet up with.  
  
"C'mon, Fi, just a little! It'll barely show up!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"It's just lipstick..."  
  
Fiona had managed to chase Lily away when threatened with mascara, but for some reason, her friend was   
much more persistent about lipstick. Fiona crossed her arms and put on her annoyed face. "No, Lily. I   
don't wear make-up."  
  
"But it would look SO good--"  
  
"No."  
  
Lily heaved a great sigh. "Fine."  
  
Once finished convincing Fi to leave her hair down, allowing to cascade in dark waves down her back, Lily  
grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of Slytherin house and towards the Great Hall.  
  
Upon entering, Fi had to admit that the Great Hall looked stupendous. The live bats that flew back and   
forth across the enchanted ceiling, and the cool, crisp breeze that magically played about the Hall gave   
the perfect atmosphere for the holiday. Lily, still with an iron grip on her wrist, pulled her towards  
the far end of the hall, where four boys were sitting--three of whom very familiar.  
  
"FI!" Sirius gave one of his famous broad grins and made a point of kissing her hand in a very mock-dignified  
way. "How simply SPLENDID to see you here!"  
  
James, who had been busy giving Lily a quick hug, turned to Fiona. "Hello again! You know, we never get  
time to talk after Care of Magical Creatures. Kettleburn keeps us 'til the last minute!"  
  
Fiona nodded. "Yeah, I know. Maybe we should make time to do homework in the library or something."  
  
At this point, Fiona turned to see Remus, waiting patiently for her to notice him. And she did. "Hullo,  
Remus."  
  
"Hi," he said in his usual mild voice. "What, you don't have a date?"  
  
"'Fraid not." Fiona shot a stern look at Lily, who was apparently dying to tell them about Snape. The  
redhead was smiling somewhat impishly at Fi and looked on the verge of shouting to the entire hall. Fi  
raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged, grinning, and mouthed, 'I won't...Don't worry.'  
  
James gave Lily an inquiring look. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing," Lily muttered, catching Fi's eye and grinning.  
  
The last boy had joined the group. "Uhm...Hullo, I'm Peter," he said nervously.  
  
Fiona shook his hand firmly. "I'm Fi. Good to meet you."  
  
He gave a weak smile and walked off to talk to some blonde girl across the hall. Sirius, meanwhile, was  
on tiptoe, trying to see over everyone's heads. "Where's Annelle?"  
  
James snickered. "I don't know, Padfoot. Did you arrange to meet her?"  
  
"Maybe," Sirius muttered vaguely. "Ah! There she is!"  
  
Ignoring the look of utter confusion on Fiona's face at what James had called him, Sirius strode across  
the hall to where a grinning, purple-robed Annelle was waiting, looking quite smug. Lily giggled and   
shook her head. "She only was late to make him squirm."  
  
"And it worked, didn't it?" James asked, grinning.  
  
Lily sighed. "I guess. Ooh, the music's starting! D'you want to dance?"  
  
"Aren't I supposed to be the one to ask you?"  
  
"New rules. Women's rights and such. C'mon!" With that, Lily now deposited the iron grip on James' arm  
and led him out onto the floor, where a rather slow waltz was playing. Sirius and Annelle were tangoing  
across the floor, scattering students and teachers alike.   
  
Fiona sighed. "Well, I guess I'll go sit down, then."  
  
Remus gave her a sideways look. "Why? Go ask someone to dance! You heard Lily--women's rights and such."  
  
Fiona shook her head violently, her hair whipping around. "No, I couldn't."  
  
"Sure you could!"  
  
"No, I..." Fiona shrugged nervously. "I can't, REALLY."  
  
"Why not?"   
  
"I can't dance," she muttered.  
  
"Sorry, didn't catch that."  
  
"I can't dance!"  
  
"Oh." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then apparently came to a conclusion, because he turned to her.  
"Well, that can be remedied. Fi, d'you want to dance?"  
  
Not sure if he was serious, she looked up. He looked serious enough. "Maybe you didn't catch this: I   
can't..."  
  
"Yes, you can! C'mon!" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out towards the dance floor.  
  
"No, Remus! No, I...My ankles are weak, and...My knees don't work properly, and...Oh, this is silly,   
but..." She finally gave up protesting as he pulled her out to the middle of the floor.  
  
"Now," he said, assuming a businesslike manner, "one hand goes on my shoulder, and you hold MY hand with  
the other." She did as she was told, blushing as he put a hand on her waist. WHY did she blush? WHY then?  
She hated not having control over what her face did. As if spots weren't enough...  
  
"Right," he said. "Now, your feet go sort of opposite mine, okay? It's a three-step. One-two-three, one-  
two-three..."  
  
Gradually, and after tripping over herself several times, Fiona managed to get the dance down. She wasn't  
perfect at it, but she could manage without stepping on Remus' feet. Even though she still had to count   
"One-two-three, one-two-three..." out loud. Remus found it quite amusing.  
  
"It's not a test, you know," he said, grinning at the top of her head--she was busy watching her feet to  
keep from tripping, all the while counting. "Some of it's making it up as you go along."  
  
She gave him a look, and in doing so, lost concentration and tripped slightly. "I'm not creative enough."  
That wasn't really true...Well, maybe with dance. Fiona, besides playing several instruments, loved to   
paint and draw. She was actually QUITE creative, but dancing, and with REMUS, for that matter, made her  
feel highly self-conscious and uncreative.  
  
"Oh, come on. You've honestly NEVER danced before?"  
  
"Well..." Fiona stopped counting for a moment. "We have parties, sometimes, at home. Mostly, I play the  
music, along with my Da, and everyone else dances. I think I danced once, with Da, but they had to   
practically drag me away from my flute." She was quiet, thinking for a moment, about that party. And   
about the various times she'd gone out at night to dance in the faery rings...No! She wouldn't think about  
that!  
  
"I probably oughtn't say anything, but you're dancing, Fi."  
  
It was true. She'd been distracted enough that she was no longer counting, and yet she hadn't tripped yet!  
As soon as that was realized, she became so astonished that she did trip. And quite thoroughly, too.   
  
Remus managed to catch her before she fell flat on her face, causing her to fight turning crimson again,  
and laughed as they walked off the dance floor. "There," he said. "Now you know how to dance. So, why   
don't you go ask someone?"  
  
"Are you kidding?" she asked, crossing her arms. "That was exhausting! Do you have any idea at'all how   
much work I put into that just then? I'm not nearly coordinated enough for that sort of thing! Do you  
HONESTLY expect me to go ASK to do it AGAIN? I mean--" she stopped, realizing that he was holding back  
laughter. "What's so amusing?"  
  
He shrugged. "You are. You honestly haven't ever done this before, have you? Other than with your father,  
I mean."  
  
Fiona put her hands on her hips, looking for a good response. "No," she managed. Lame.  
  
He gave his usual quiet smile, apparently over his sudden bout of uncharacteristic--what, flirting? No,  
Fi thought. Why would he?  
  
"Well, you'll simply have to practice, then." He shrugged.  
  
"'Practice?'" Fiona repeated. "Hmph. I've got another month-and-a-half before I need to worry about the  
Yule Ball. Which I may not even go to."  
  
"You're not going?"  
  
"Did I say that?"  
  
"No, but you implied it. Will you please come?"  
  
"Why?" Fiona asked, somewhat bitterly. "So I can trip over myself?"  
  
"No, so I'll have someone to dance with." He grinned. "Other than Peter."  
  
Fiona gave him a skeptical look. "You actually WANT to dance with me again? Remus, I worry for your sanity."  
  
He shook his head. "I would love to dance with you again. Will you please come next time?" Fiona didn't   
respond, and he sighed deeply. "You're going to make this hard for me, aren't you?"  
  
"What?" she muttered, completely mystified.  
  
He sighed again. "D'you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?"  
  
There was that numbness again. But this time, it was different. Something sort of--giddy, maybe?--overtook  
her stomach, and it was all she could do to keep from emitting a little giggle, like those mindless girls   
in her dormitory. "I...Yes. Yes, I'll go. With you. Uh-huh." She allowed herself a smallish smile before  
turning and practically skipping out of the Great Hall with the other students, who were now leaving the   
ball.  
  
Though she didn't see it, Remus smiled too, exceptionally glad that his skin wasn't nearly as pale as hers,  
or this evening's little bout of Sirius-ness would have left him brighter red than the Gryffindor Banner.  
Also unseen to the both of them was Severus Snape, who was eyeing Remus Lupin with much more dislike than  
was usual. To put it LIGHTLY.  
  
***  
Part 4  
***  
  
"Fi!"  
  
Fiona turned, already knowing who'd called her. "What's up?"  
  
Lily trotted up to her, grinning. "First quidditch match of the year! Tomorrow afternoon! Ravenclaw versus  
Slytherin. You gonna come?" (A/N: Work with me here, guys. I know Quidditch is really in the spring, but  
for the sake of the story...I JUST GOT A PLOT FIGURED OUT! CUT ME SOME SLACK!)  
  
Fiona bit her lip, thinking. "What time?"  
  
"Emm...Oh, yeah, one-thirty. Right after lunch."  
  
"Oh," Fi muttered, going distinctly red in the face. "Uhm...I...uh..."  
  
"What?" Lily asked, detecting a secret. "Come on, Fi, tell me."  
  
Fiona shot her a look--that happened a lot with her and Lily--and crossed her arms. "I...have a tutoring  
session tomorrow. After lunch. In the library. For Defense."  
  
"With--?" Lily prompted, causing Fi to blush a deeper shade of crimson.  
  
"Remus," she muttered. Rather embarrassed by Lily's giggling at this, she pursed her lips. "Well, he IS  
the top student, you know. He's really good at Defense. REALLY," she added when Lily gave her a skeptical  
glance.  
  
"If you say so," she said. "Well, try to make it to the match, okay? James is coming--"  
  
"Then you won't have time to talk to me anyway."  
  
Now it was Lily's turn to blush. "Okay, I'll stop teasing you if you stop teasing me."  
  
"Well that's no fun."  
  
"You're right. So, about this tutoring..."  
  
"Don't even go there."  
  
***  
  
The next afternoon, Fiona wolfed down her lunch and found Remus, and together they headed off for the   
library. Settling in a corner table, they could hear the rest of the school heading out the doors and  
into the stands.  
  
"You're sure you don't want to go watch the match? Slytherin is playing, after all." Remus unpacked his   
textbooks as he spoke, stacking them on the table.  
  
Fiona shrugged. "I don't care about quidditch. Or Slytherin. So I can miss the match." She looked up,   
scowling.   
  
Remus was giving her a sympathetic look. "Fi, you're supposed to have...well...LOYALTY towards your  
house, whether you want to be there or not. It's...I dunno. You shoudn't feel so horrible about Slytherin."  
  
"Why in the world shouldn't I? It's where all the darkest wizards have come from, isn't it? And I'm there   
now."  
  
He sighed, setting his now empty bookbag on the floor next to his chair. "Fiona, you're NOT a dark witch,  
okay?"  
  
"How do you know?" she asked stubbornly, not really expecting him to humor her with an answer. After all,  
she was being rather childish.  
  
But he did. "Because dark witches and wizards don't WANT to be good. You do," he answered mildly.  
She was about to retort with another "how do you know?", but he silenced her with a look. "Fiona, McGonagall  
even said that each of the houses have produced wonderful witches and wizards. Not ALL of the Slytherins   
turn evil. Look at Lily--she's not evil, is she?"  
  
"Well, no, but--"  
  
"Then you can't stereotype the Slytherins. Personally, I can see why you don't think you belong there. I think  
you and Lily both belong in another house. Maybe Ravenclaw. But Lily tends to be somewhat short-tempered and  
is QUITE capable of being vengeful. And she's clever and somewhat sly, you know that. Maybe that's what the  
hat saw in her. As for you, what's your bloodline?"  
  
Usually Fiona would have taken a bit of offense at this, but Remus was different. He NEVER mocked anyone for   
their family. "Well, I'm Muggle-born. Da's a farmer's son, Ma's from Dublin."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"Well, yes. I DO know my own bloodlines, after all." Fiona grinned, but stopped quickly. "See? Lily has   
Slytherin traits, so even though she's Muggle-born, she has a reason for being there. I'm a Muggle-born   
Irish farmgirl. I mean..." she hesitated. "Do I have...You know...Slytherin-ish traits?"  
  
"Not that I'm aware of." He opened one of his books. "You have a bit of a temper, but so does James, and he's  
basically the super-Gryffindor. Maybe it was bungled. I doubt it, though. That hat's not ever made a mistake.  
Everyone has been put in their house for a very good reason, though they may not know it yet."  
  
"I hate it when you act so philosophical."  
  
He shrugged. "My point is, you can have friends and enemies anywhere, and you shouldn't stereotype people, like  
the Slytherins, based on prats like Malfoy, Snape, and Parkinson. Okay?"  
  
"Yes, but why am I in Slytherin, then?"  
  
He looked at her for a moment, forgetting his books. After a moment, he sighed. "I don't know. Like I said,   
you'll probably know someday."  
  
Fiona made a derisive noise in her throat, but nodded. She jumped as a voice behind her sneered, "Wise words for  
something like YOU, Lupin."  
  
Fi whipped around to see Severus leaning casually against the nearest bookshelf, glaring at Remus with his cold  
black eyes. Remus shrugged. "I'll take that as a compliment, Severus," he said calmly.  
  
"What, not cheering Aaron and Lucious on?" Fiona said stiffly. He had been unusually unpleasant since she'd turned  
him down for the Halloween dance.  
  
"Actually, Professor Blasphen asked me to come find you. Slytherins ARE supposed to support their house, you   
know." A hint of a smile crossed his face--but not a warm one. "I expect she'll be MOST displeased to find that  
you were absent from the game to sit and chat in the library with a GRYFFINDOR."  
  
Fiona shrugged, beyond caring. "She's 'most displeased' with the mere sight of me. I don't really care at this   
point."  
  
"Ahh, but see, it's not YOU who needs to care. Our beastly little friend here will be in trouble for detaining you.  
He doesn't get along very well with Professor Blasphen, either. She might just have to take a few points from   
Gryffindor, you know."  
  
Fiona smiled sweetly and spat out a rather nasty insult at Severus--in English--before giving Remus an apologetic  
look and gathering her books. "Okay, Snape, have it your way. Let me put away my books and I'll come watch the  
Testosterone-pumped trolls do their thing."  
  
Severus gave her a rather startled look, both from being called "Snape" instead of his first name, and also from  
her little interpretation of quidditch. It didn't bother her, though--Remus was covering a smile with one  
of his large hands. So it was worth it.  
  
She stood from her seat and brushed past Severus with a lofty expression on her face before slamming her side  
into the door to open it. Once in the hallway, she winced from the slight ache it had caused, but hey, she'd made  
her point. What did he think he was doing, monitoring her like that? As if she couldn't take care of herself.  
And threatening to get REMUS into trouble was low. Very low. Why was he doing this? Fiona shook her head, angrily  
chucking her books onto her bed, and completely oblivious to the conversation taking place in the library now that  
she'd left.  
  
***  
  
"What do you think you're DOING, keeping her away from the match? YOU may not appreciate Slytherin, but if she's   
in this house, she needs to support it." Severus looked extremely miffed, to say the least.  
  
Remus sighed. "If you were actually listening to our conversation, which I have no doubt you were, then you know  
I was TRYING to get her to go to the match, and to respect your house. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go   
back to my common room--"  
  
"Not so fast, Lupin! Have you ever even THOUGHT about the possibilities of this? Of what COULD happen to her?"  
Remus bristled. "What d'you mean?" he asked, knowing perfectly well where this conversation was going.  
"What if you attacked her? Bit her? KILLED her? You're putting her in danger by letting her get attatched to you.  
What if something were to happen?"  
  
Remus scowled, losing his usual calmness. "She's not attatched..." he said impatiently.  
  
Severus snorted. "'Not attatched?' You saw her. She was sitting about six inches away from you before I--"  
  
"Might I suggest, 'allowed my scent to wander'? You probably scared her off, swooping over like some overgrown,  
smelly nocturnal animal." Remus was standing now, eye to eye with Snape.  
  
Severus sneered. "--Whatever. The point is, you're a danger to her. Stop playing with your prey."  
  
Remus' jaw dropped, an expression he usually considered uncouth. Remembering this, he quickly closed it. "You  
are way out of line, Snape," he growled.  
  
"Am I?" he murmured. "What happens when she gets curious as to where you go each month? What happens when she   
decides to follow you, O Feral One, and finds out the same thing I did last year? James won't be there to save   
her, too."  
  
And then it finally dawned on Remus: "You're jealous, aren't you?"  
  
Snape raised his eyebrows. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm merely concerned that you might inflict pain and   
misery, or even DEATH, upon some ignorant girl who's too busy fawning over you to notice the danger."  
Remus said nothing. He crammed his books into his bag, trying not to allow his hands to shake, and stalked  
stiffly out of the library, leaving a rather satisfied-looking Severus behind him.  
  
***  
  
Fiona didn't even look up from her book as Lily danced through the door to their dormitory. "How was the match?"  
she managed, around a mouthful of cookie. The house elves were always so kind to her; perhaps because they didn't  
have to speak English to her...  
  
Lily sighed, evoking soft giggles from Fi. "It was great."  
  
"Who won?"  
  
"Uhm...I don't...quite know..."  
  
Fiona laughed loudly, offering Lily a cookie, which she took. Lily grinned, examining the cookie thoughtfully.  
  
"How was the tutoring session? Or did you learn anything ACADEMIC?"  
  
Fi made a rather disgusted face and threw a pillow at her friend. "Actually, all I learned was that Slytherin,  
supposedly, isn't as much of a rat's nest as I, being the Slytherin, think. This theory was only proven wrong   
as our dear friend Severus chose that moment to show up and threaten to get Remus into trouble for 'detaining  
me'. Can you BELIEVE that?"  
  
Lily shook her head, an annoyed expression on her face. "That git."  
  
"I know!" Fi exclaimed. "So I left. I grabbed my books and said something nasty to him--yes, in English--and  
just marched right out. I do believe he was quite surprised. Oh, and I called him 'Snape' instead of the usual  
'Severus.'"  
  
"He can't've liked that," Lily said, offering a small smile. "Not to bring you down for showing that idiot  
what you're made of, but did it occur to you that...Oh, I dunno...Never mind."  
  
"No, don't you 'never mind' me. What?" Fiona was dead serious now, sitting on her bed and dragging a brush   
through her impossibly thick hair.  
  
"You mean it's not occurred to you yet? Oh, Fi, you're SO oblivious..."  
  
"Hey, I'm not the one who went to the match and doesn't know the score."  
  
"Point taken. But...FI...Honestly. Snape's jealous. I thought you'd know, considering the fact that he asked  
you to the ball, only to be turned down and watch you then dance with Remus instead." Lily stated all of this  
in a very sweet voice, as though explaining that one and one was two to a small child.  
  
"Well, life's tough and then you die. Relationships don't always work, especially when you're a slimy, greasy  
little mass of nastiness, like he is. I need a cookie."  
  
Lily sighed exasperatedly as Fi crammed another cookie in her mouth. "Fi, he and Remus are already on bad terms.  
What d'you think happened after you left?"  
  
"Remus probably told the slimeball to keep his nose in his own business. Or, he could have merely left for   
Gryffindor tower."  
  
Lily sighed. "Fine. I guess you're right. It's just...Be careful, okay? Those guys are quite full of themselves,  
you know. They will fight to the bitter end. And that's not just James and Severus, either. Remus, though he  
hates being violent, does tend to have a temper. And, if Severus hit a tender subject, like his family's...em...  
social status, it could be a problem." (A/N: Remember, guys, Lily doesn't know about Remus yet, just the boys.   
'Kay?)  
  
"He'll be okay." Fiona shoved the last half of her cookie into her mouth and brushed the crumbs off her   
robes.   
  
"Yes. I suppose."  
  
At that moment, Narcissa entered the room, small pointed face wearing an expression of one who smells something  
unpleasant. "I'm to tell you two that we're having a party to celebrate the victory of Slytherin."  
  
"Oh, so SLYTHERIN won!" Fi said, grinning. "May as well, don't you think, Lily?"  
  
"Sure, we'll be right out." Lily made shooing motions with her hands at Narcissa, whose look of loathing deepened  
as she regretfully left the room. Lily sighed. "Fiona, just...Be careful. This is quite a situation, you know."  
  
"Stop worrying. Remus is a big boy; he can take care of himself. I'm going out there. Why don't you change out  
of your Date With James clothes and get into something less...purple."  
  
Lily grinned as Fiona left for the common room. "Yeah, I'll stop worrying, Fi," she muttered, grin faltering, "but  
sometimes I think Remus NEEDS someone to care for him..."  
  
***  
  
Fiona sighed, grabbing a bottle of butterbeer and sitting down against the wall. Snape was avoiding eye-contact,  
but Fiona glared just the same, even at his back. The git. Why couldn't he keep his nose in his own business?  
She noticed that he was standing with Lucious and Aaron. Quite normal, really, but there was something odd about  
the way they were whispering together. Obviously they were plotting, but against whom? Fi's curiosity was peaked,  
so she moved a little closer. Lucious noticed and they all turned to glare at her before retreating to a more  
distant corner. Fiona sighed. Maybe, just maybe...No, she couldn't. What if she lost control? What if they...  
Well, for that matter, what would she care if the faeries DID wreak havoc in the Slytherin common? Sirius,  
anyway, would think it a brilliant joke, and would probably take credit for it, not even knowing who REALLY did  
it...  
  
No! she told herself. No, no, no! Think...Is there ANY other way? Remembering what Lily had said, Fiona became  
concerned. What if they were going to do something to Remus?  
  
Closing her eyes in concentration, she called. There was a small popping noise that only she heard, and a small,  
quite literally flaming red creature appeared, fluttering its tiny orange and yellow wings. Fiona paused, just  
taking in the pixy's appearance. She (it could only be female) was small, with shiny dark eyes and a pointy   
little face, and hair composed of flames that whipped around her head, giving her a somewhat chaotic look. Fi  
remembered what was happening when the pixy put her minute little hands on her hips and said in a tiny voice,  
"Well? I answered, didn't I, Fae-speaker?"  
  
"Oh," Fi muttered, careful not to allow anyone in the room to see her talking to what appeared to be thin air. "I  
was wondering, if it wasn't too much trouble, could..."  
  
"Well, spit it out," the pixy said. "I've not got all century."  
  
"I will, I'm getting there," Fi said, rather annoyed at this small being's impatience. "I need to know what those  
boys are saying over there. It...It sounds sort of silly, I know, but it may be important. Could you please do  
it for me--they can't see you. Please, erm..."  
  
"Firebell."  
  
"Firebell, then. Would you, please?"  
  
Firebell sighed, flames whipping about her small face. "Very well. Since you asked nicely."  
  
"Thank you," Fi breathed. "Emm...I'll get you something to eat, if you like. How does chocolate sound?"  
  
Firebell brightened greatly. "Well, then, if there's CHOCOLATE involved...I've not had chocolate in at least fifty  
years...Mortal food, you know."  
  
"Yes, well..." Fi muttered distractedly. "Please find out what they're saying, while I go get you some food. Okay?"  
  
"Very well." The pixy fluttered off, and Fi managed to find a chocolate frog among the other party treats. After  
a moment, Firebell returned and grabbed the frog. "Well, they're discussing something about a werewolf, and setting  
a big brute of a dog loose. Lots of violence, lots of evil laughter. Unpleasant little things, humans, if you   
ask me."  
  
"Gee, thanks." She thought a moment. "Werewolf?" Fi muttered vaguely. "I didn't know there was a werewolf nearby...  
Well, maybe in the forest, but..."  
  
"His name was strange," Firebell said, mouth full of chocolate. "Like, 'Loopy' or 'Loony' or something."  
  
"Lupin?" Fi suggested, going cold all over.  
  
"Yes, that was it," the pixy said cheerily, dusting her little hands off. "Well, thanks for the chocolate,  
fae-speaker. You're one of the few nice humans I've met."  
  
Fi nodded numbly, not watching as the pixy dissappeared with a small pop. Remus, a werewolf? And something to do  
with a big dog? It didn't make sense...Remus, a WEREWOLF? No...He would have told her, right? They told each  
other everything. Right? RIGHT? 


	3. Parts 5 & 6

Fa A Bhialainn Ann  
Chapters 5 & 6  
by Veralidaine  
  
Part 5  
  
Fiona sighed deeply, lying under her covers in her green-draped bed. Was Remus...a werewolf? If so--and  
it was entirely possible, really--why hadn't he told her?  
  
'Don't be stupid,' the logical little voice in the back of her head said. 'Why haven't you told HIM  
about YOUR little secret? It's probably for the same reason, you twit.'  
  
Nasty little logical voice.  
  
Well, if Firebell had been telling the truth, and it WAS Remus, what was that bit with the large dog  
about? She knew the groundskeeper, Hagrid, who she had met a few times, owned a huge boarhound named   
Fang...But Fang LOOKED much more fierce than he actually was. Besides, what kind of idiots WERE they, to  
think that a dog would defeat a fully-fledged werewolf? They were mean, no doubt about it, and not the  
brightest of evil boys, but even they weren't THAT stupid. Surely they had something else cooked up...  
  
Fiona lifted her arms up behind her head, sighing. Lily was fast asleep, as were the other girls in the  
dormitory. But not Fi. Why did she worry about Remus so much? It was unnerving...She'd never had a  
person outside of her immediate family to worry about. No, her little ability made that difficult. It   
had left her a very mistrusting, shy, and somewhat angry person. So why was Remus different than all of  
the other people? Why did she all of a sudden care so much for his safety? Even though he might be a  
werewolf? And what would he think, once he found out what SHE was? A lovely pair they'd be--the two  
social outcasts of Hogwarts...  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted as she shielded her eyes from a bright red light. Bringing her hands down  
from her face, she saw Firebell sitting cross-legged on her stomach, looking impatient. "Are you asleep,  
fae-speaker?"  
  
"Not quite yet," Fi muttered groggily. "Why're you here? I mean, I didn't call you or anything."  
  
"No, you didn't," the pixy agreed. "I just thought I'd fill you in on something interesting I saw while  
exploring this castle." She waved her hands around wildly for emphasis. "Very big place, isn't it?"  
  
"'Tis. You've no idea how long it took me to figure out how to get from class to class."  
  
"Yes, well," Firebell muttered. "I found the dog."  
  
Fiona sat bolt-upright, knocking Firebell over backwards. "Sorry," Fi muttered, prodding the tiny thing  
into a sitting position with her fingertip.  
  
"Yes, well," Firebell muttered testily, standing up unsteadily on Fi's knee. "D'you want to see it?"  
  
"Very much so," Fi responded, making sure to allow Firebell to take flight before standing up. "Where is  
it?"  
  
"I'm surprised you mortals have not heard it. It's right under your round little noses." Firebell halted  
in front of a wall of stone bricks, just like the others in the common room. "You go through here."  
  
"I can't do that," Fi whispered, praying that no one would hear her from the dormitories. "I may be able  
to talk to you, but I can't go through walls with you."  
  
The dark little eyes raised towards the ceiling and Firebell sighed deeply. "Mortals. HONESTLY." She   
flitted over to the torch bracket. "Wasn't this OBVIOUS to you lot?"  
  
"Apparently not, O Superior One," Fi muttered, pursing her lips.  
  
"Watch your mouth, fae-speaker. I AM showing you the dog, remember."  
  
Fi sighed. "Yes, I know. Sorry."  
  
"Right," Firebell said cheerily, apparently satisfied with the simple apology. "You just yank on this   
thing here and--"  
  
The stone wall slid back with a soft grating noise. Listening for a moment to be sure that no one in the  
dormitories had woken up, Fiona stepped into the narrow staircase beyond the wall and Firebell closed   
the door with a simple hand motion. As the stone slid back into place, Fiona swallowed roughly. How odd  
was this, to be wandering around Slytherin house at night, with a fire-pixy for a guide?  
  
She stopped in her tracks at the sound of fierce growling. The bottom of the stairwell ended in a   
corner, and flickering light was cast onto the landing, indicating a small fire. Fiona edged down the  
rest of the stairs, barely poking her head around the wall separating the stairs from the room beyond.  
  
"Shut up, mongrel!"  
  
That was Aaron. He threw something hard into a shadowy corner, and something MASSIVE moved and made a  
very angry growling noise. Something MUCH bigger than Fang, or any wolf she'd ever seen. Fiona would   
have liked to see just WHAT it was, but the shadows in that corner that enveloped the creature prevented  
her from doing just that.  
  
"Will you keep it down?!" hissed a voice that sounded very much like Severus's deadly soft one. "The whole   
HOUSE will be down here if you don't shut it!"  
  
"'S'not me, it's the--"  
  
"Just shut it, Aaron."   
  
Fiona bristled at the sound of Lucious' harsh voice. She watched silently as he swept over to the other   
boys, looking pained.   
  
"Dirty old..." Fi muttered, but Firebell shot her a glare and she shut her mouth, once again conscious  
of her surroundings.  
  
"Fine," Aaron snapped, and Fi heard him mutter, "Since when do YOU get to tell ME to shut it?"  
  
"Since he's right," Snape sneered.   
  
"Quite," Lucious said. "If we don't watch it, that mudblood twit will get curious. You saw her tonight."  
  
Fiona distinctly heard Snape mumble, "She's not a twit..." but apparently was the only one who did,   
because the other boys merely stopped bickering and resumed glaring into the corner where the creature  
was still growling.  
  
Aaron sighed loudly. "I was thinking...Why don't we just pit our little friend here against Lupin and  
watch the poor" --Fi cringed at the language-- "get ripped to shreds? I mean, it's not like he could  
BEAT this thing..."  
  
"Aaron, Aaron, Aaron..." Lucious said tiredly. "I've TOLD you. That plan might win, or it might not. The   
other plan will work much better, really, if you think about it. We set him loose on the full moon, when   
Sprout's out working with those bloody mandrakes, and he attacks her. All she sees in the dark is something  
canine with big teeth and claws. That idiot of a headmaster knows perfectly well that Lupin's a werewolf.   
He'll go with the obvious conclusion: Lupin got loose from his little hut and decided to have Sprout for   
a bedtime snack. And the Grim's long gone by then, so it's all good for us. Plus, we get to skip Herbology  
for a bit." He grinned.  
  
Fiona's hand was pressed up against her mouth to keep from crying out. Something was SERIOUSLY wrong with  
these boys. They were plotting to frame Remus, and kill a teacher in the process, and without the slightest  
bit of remorse. She had known that they were unpleasant to have class with, and prejudiced, and yes,   
potentially evil, but this was WAY more than she'd ever expected from them. And now she didn't know quite  
how to handle it.  
  
************************  
  
After climbing silently up the stairs again, and back up to her dormitory, Fiona paced back and forth in   
front of her bed for the next two hours, trying to find a way to solve the problem. She would go to   
Dumbledore, but then who KNEW what the boys would do to her, even if they got off by saying that it was all  
a stupid joke that she'd fallen for. Another option, which had been quickly stamped out, was to confront the  
boys herself and try to keep them from carrying out their plan. But who was to say they wouldn't kill her,   
too? They'd shown capability...  
  
Finally, the clock on her dresser indicated that it was seven-thirty, and Fi knew that breakfast was being  
served in the Great Hall. Hoping that Remus would be there, she practically leapt into her robes and ran   
down to the Great Hall. This wasn't the best idea, as Remus wasn't there yet, and all she ended up doing was  
thoroughly winding herself.  
  
At least, she reminded herself glumly, I have Care of Magical Creatures with him, first thing.  
  
She scooped some porrige into a bowl and sighed, stirring it around. What was she going to do? What if they  
found out that she knew? What would they do to her? Would they get away with it? Would they ACTUALLY go   
through with this plan?  
  
Breakfast came and went; still no Remus. Fi nearly panicked, thinking he'd already left for the full moon,   
but that wasn't for two more days. Scared of missing him, Fiona grabbed her books quickly and ran out onto  
the grounds for Care of Magical Creatures. But Remus didn't arrive for that, either. According to a very   
confused Sirius, he had claimed he didn't feel well and had gone to the hospital wing. So, after class, Fi  
ran as quickly as she could to get to the hospital wing, but he wasn't there, either, though Madam Pomfrey  
was kind enough to tell the girl that he'd headed off towards Gryffindor tower.  
  
Thoroughly winding herself once more, Fiona managed to find him, quickly walking towards the marble   
staircase in the entrance hall. "Remus!" she managed to gasp out.  
  
He started and turned, looking nervous. "Fi, I--uhm--can't talk right now. I have to--erm--go to my dorm   
and--ah--get some books and--"  
  
"Drop it," Fi panted. "Look I have to warn you--"  
  
"I have to go, Fi, I can't talk."  
  
"Remus, you don't understand--"  
  
"No." He said it harshly, but there was a certain pain in his face. "Fi, I have to go. Get on to class."  
  
Fiona stopped breathing, much less panting. He had NEVER spoken to her like that. "Wha-?...Remus, I--"  
  
"Go on!" he said, shooing her. Abruptly, he turned and ran up the staircase, not looking back, as Fi stood  
at the bottom, staring at the spot where he'd been standing with an astonished and hurt expression on her  
round face.  
  
************************  
  
The next days seemed to drag by. Fiona tried various times to catch Remus after class, but he always seemed  
to be so much faster than her. Fi finally resigned herself to the fact that he wasn't speaking to her on  
purpose, though she couldn't think why. Was it because she'd made him angry? What had she done? She tortured  
herself with those questions, and what would happen on the full moon.  
  
And, as all dreaded things do, the full moon arrived quicker than Fiona could ever have expected. That  
evening, Fi was rather vague towards everyone. Lily knew something was wrong, obviously, but knew her friend  
well enough to leave her alone. And Fi, though nervous, couldn't help but allow her brain to tell her that  
maybe, just MAYBE, they might get cold feet at the last minute. It was true that the boys were acting quite  
casually, considering the fact that they were plotting murder.  
  
But as the evening progressed, Fi began to pick up the subtle hints they shot each other, and it was obvious  
that they were not about to back down. So, when the moon rose and it got dark out, the gnawing, sickening  
feeling in her stomach that had been building all day came to its peak and she felt quite ill with worry.  
Careful to keep from being noticed, she sat in a chair by the fire, pretending to do her Potions assignment,  
and waiting for the last of the students in the common room to leave for bed. Normally, she remembered, she'd  
be among them. After all, they DID have an exam in Defense the next day. But this was more important.  
  
Curling up in the chair, Fi waited for Lucious, Severus, and Aaron to come down the stairs. But they didn't.  
And didn't. And didn't. And Fi began to wonder...What if they didn't come at all? What if this was all some  
elaborate scheme to trick her? What if they'd ALREADY let the thing loose? Unsure of what to do, Fi quietly   
stood, leaving her book in the chair, and tiptoed out of Slytherin house as quietly as was possible.   
  
Sneaking through the drafty, emptied, and dark corridors of the school at night was not what one would call  
fun. Or easy. Once, when Peeves threatened to swoop down on her, she'd had to take a major detour through a  
passageway behind a tapestry of a woman and a unicorn, making her even more afraid of being too late.  
  
Quietly closing the oak front doors behind her, Fi allowed herself a deep sigh of relief. She was brought   
back to earth abruptly as a long, mournful howl pierced the silence. Shivering slightly, and wondering  
whether it was the Grim or Remus, Fi stumbled through the darkness towards the greenhouses. Sure enough,  
Professor Sprout was patting the soil around the last of the mandrakes, humming cheerily, apparently  
oblivious to the horrible howling sounds. Fi supposed the entire staff must know about Remus, and felt a   
small surge of anger at having to find out the way she had.  
  
"Oh!" Fi quickly stifled the cry as something large and hairy came bounding out of the darkness and pounced,  
growling and clawing, on the Herbology professor. Fi stood for a fraction of a second, deaf with horror to  
the screams and roars issuing from the nearby fight, before a tiny voice in her head said, "NOW!"  
  
"Oh..." Fi muttered, trying to concentrate over the horrible background noise. "Come to me...If you ever were  
to come, come now! Please...PLEASE come..." She put her hands down to her sides, palms out, and breathed  
deeply. "Please come...Hear me..."  
  
When she opened her eyes again, she saw that the huge dog was running away, towards the forest, with dozens  
of multicolored pinpricks of light surrounding it, biting, pinching, and inflicting all sorts of magical   
pains onto the beast. Numbly, Fi ran to Professor Sprout, who lay unmoving on the ground. The young woman's  
robes were torn and bloodied, and she obviously needed immediate medical attention, but she was still   
breathing. Fi stood and took a deep breath, preparing to call for help, but a voice shouted, "Stupefy!", and  
before she could utter a sound, all was black, and she knew no more.  
  
************************(A/N: 'Kay, guys, I couldn't just leave you there, though I thought about it. So,   
here's the bonus part of this story. I hate cliffhangers, so I couldn't do that to you, now could I? ^_^)  
  
Fi woke, stiff and sore, but warm. Her vision was blurry for a moment, but she blinked a few times and took   
in her surroundings. She was under a thick blanket, on a couch, with her Potions book...In the Slytherin   
common room. She sat up abruptly, causing throbbing pain in her head. 'Oh,' she thought. 'I forgot...No   
sudden movements after a summoning...'  
  
On the other side of the room, Severus Snape quickly brought his head up from dozing and looked at her. "Oh.  
You're up."  
  
"What d'you mean, 'you're up'? Was that YOU who stunned me?" She didn't wait for an answer. "You...You...I  
DESPISE you, you...You..."  
  
"Will you SHUT IT for just a MOMENT?" Snape hissed testily.   
  
Fiona glared as hard as she could, but stopped trying to think of an appropriate insult for the boy in front  
of her.  
  
"Right," Snape said, crossing his arms. "First off, you're lucky I even found you in the first place. If I   
hadn't gotten to you, Lucious and Aaron would have. And they wouldn't have simply stunned you, either."  
  
"How did you know I was out there?"   
  
"You left your book. You never do that." He stated all of this so matter-of-factly, and Fi snorted.  
  
"What, you actually PAY ATTENTION to what I do? Why bother? And why did you even bother to save me? Why not  
get rid of the mudblood twit, as well as Sprout and Remus?" Snape gave her a piercing look, not responding,  
and Fi shook her head disbelievingly. "Well if you're trying to make me like you, I assure you, it's NOT   
working."  
  
"That is not the topic under discussion," Snape said, rather loudly. "The point is, I don't expect you to be  
anything but your usual snotty little self to me, but at least keep in mind that I saved you."  
  
Something had been at the back of Fi's mind, fighting desperately to get out, and now it finally found its   
window of opportunity as she was turning Snape's words over in her mind. "Oh! What happened to Remus? Is he  
safe?"  
  
Snape snorted. "Of COURSE he's safe. D'you honestly think HE got hurt?"  
  
"You know what I mean," Fi growled. "What happened?" Snape mumbled something incoherent and looked away,  
assuming the same posture he had when he'd asked her to the Halloween dance. Fiona gritted her teeth. "I  
said, 'what happened'?"  
  
Snape sighed. "He got...blamed for it. He's...I don't know. Dumbledore--"  
  
Fi stood up abruptly, ignoring the pain in her head. "How COULD you? You KNEW it wasn't him! Why didn't you  
help him? Can't you ever just think for yourself? Why do you let Lucious order you around? Why?" She shook  
her head and covered her eyes, taking in deep breaths. She wasn't going to cry...How could this have   
happened? After she'd worked so hard to try to prevent it?  
  
Suddenly, jeering laughter filled the room, and Fi looked up to see a rather apprehensive Snape standing next  
to Lucious, who was grinning maliciously, and Aaron, who was laughing rather stupidly. Lucious saw her and  
grinned more broadly, narrowing the cold gray eyes to mere slits. "So, you found out, then?"  
  
Fi shook her head slowly, a look of pure fury on her face. "How...COULD...you..."  
  
"Oh, quite easily, I assure you," Lucious said, before he and Aaron broke into laughter again, causing Fi's  
very blood to boil.  
  
Fi clenched her fists, concentrating on one thing only: Lucious, Aaron, and Severus needed punishment. Serious,  
PAINFUL punishment. And she would give it to them. She would. They'd regret this. Sorely. These murderous   
thoughts coursed through her body, until the pounding of her heart was so loud she was sure the entire castle  
was shaking from it, and all of a sudden, they came.  
  
Whirring, brightly-colored wings and pointed little faces, each with an impish smirk upon it. Sharp little   
hands and feet, powerful and painful magic...The faeries were angry. Fi was angry, and it was just another  
excuse to cause mayhem. And they did.  
  
Lucious was hanging from his expensive velvet robes, suspended from a torch bracket, while Aaron had tried  
to take refuge under a cloak rack, only to be prodded and pinched by various tiny fingers. Severus, meanwhile,  
was being chased about the room by a whole cloud of them, shouting as they pulled at his greasy hair. And, of  
course, this was the moment that the head of house, Professor Blasphen, decided to investigate the shouts of  
pain that were issuing from her common room. Fi watched, as if in slow motion, the wall opening, and the   
short, dark professor striding through, wearing a green dressing gown.   
  
As one of the faeries removed all of her curlers with a simple flick of the wrist, the woman looked at Fi. "I  
KNEW this would happen! He should never have admitted you, the doddery old fool! Come with me!" A strong, ice-  
cold hand closed around her wrist and pulled her from the room, and with a simple spell, the faeries were all  
immobilized; frozen in thin air. And Fi, resigned and exhausted, let herself be led forcefully from the room.  
  
***  
Part 6  
***  
  
Numbly, Fi sat down in the large chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. Blasphen had gone to wake   
Dumbledore and bring him down to "deal with" her. Eyes glazed over with the sort of dreading shock that  
always overcame her when this happened, Fi waited, thinking hostile thoughts. Those pigs...And now  
Remus was who-knew-where, she was in trouble, and Professor Sprout was hurt. It all could have been  
prevented had she just managed to put together a plan instead of panicking and acting blindly.  
  
It had been so quiet, and she had been so lost in thought, that the sound of the office door opening   
and shutting made Fi jump about two feet in the air. Blushing a bit, she settled back down as the aged  
headmaster entered without Blasphen and sat down opposite her, on the other side of his desk. "Now, Miss  
McLellan, what seems to be the problem?"  
  
Fi, through her shame and anger, managed to raise her eyebrows at this. "Professor Blasphen didn't tell  
you?"  
  
"Well of course she did," Dumbledore said, smiling quietly. "But I would very much like to hear your   
verson of events."  
  
Fi sighed loudly. "But...I'm not sure telling anyone is such a good plan."  
  
"Rest assured, Miss McLellan, you will not get into trouble for telling me what happened. I will not   
allow it."  
  
Fiona sighed loudly again. "Well...I'll tell you. You probably won't believe me, but I'll tell you."  
  
"I would very much appreciate that."  
  
And so Fi recounted the past weeks' events to the headmaster, glad to have it off her chest. The more  
she talked, the more she felt as though a huge weight was being taken from her shoulders. It was very   
liberating.  
  
"...And so, I woke in the common room, and found out that Remus had gotten blamed, and then Aaron and  
Lucius came in and were laughing and gloating, and I couldn't take it any more. It just...It just sort  
of happened. I think I had a hand in it, subconsciously, but really, I couldn't control it once it  
happened."  
  
"I see." The entire time she'd been speaking, Dumbledore's eyes had not left her face. He looked very  
tired, but he didn't seem too skeptical of the story she'd just told him. "You do know about the history  
of fae-speakers, don't you?"  
  
Fi shook her head, embarrassed. "My parents...They're muggle. Mum's ancestry goes back through...sort of  
hedgewitches. None of them were really magical, but they could all talk to the fae. I suppose it goes  
through the women."  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "It does. But do you know your ancestry more specifically, perchance?"   
  
"How do you mean?"  
  
"Where the bloodline of fae-speakers started?"  
  
Fiona frowned in thought. "I think it was my gran. Yes...She started it."  
  
"Was there anything unusual about your grandmother?" Dumbledore pressed.  
  
Fi raised an eyebrow. What was he getting at? "I don't really know. She died before I was born, when Ma  
was still a little girl. All I know is that she was dark Irish. You know, black hair and blue eyes.   
She had pale skin, too, like mine. Why?"  
  
"Was she an immortal?"  
  
Fi was a bit taken aback. "Well she died, didn't she?"  
  
"Quite correct..." He looked thoughtful. "Are you sure she didn't simply leave?"  
  
"Ma said she died. That's what her Da told her." Fi thought for a moment. It was possible...But why was  
it significant?  
  
"Interesting..." Dumbledore said softly. "I may need to speak to you again, Miss McLellan."  
  
"That's fine," Fi murmured.  
  
"Well, then, Miss McLellan--"  
  
"Fiona, please."  
  
"Fiona, then. You aren't in trouble. It was an accident, as far as I can tell, and I will make sure that  
you do not get into trouble for giving me your story." He slowly stood up from his seat.  
  
Something then occurred to Fi, and she could have kicked herself for taking so long to remember it. "Uh,  
Professor? Where's Remus?"  
  
Dumbledore sighed, looking still more exhausted, and turned his bright blue eyes on her again. "At the  
request of several of the staff members, he is locked in Professor Flitwick's office."  
  
Fi nearly fell out of her chair. "But he's innocent!"  
  
"I know, Fiona, but he doesn't seem it. In the morning, the minister of magic is going to come by and  
take him to be tried. Will you speak for him?"  
  
"Of course..." Fi paused, at a loss. "Professor, can I go see him? Please?" It didn't occur to her until   
after she'd said it how stupid it sounded--Remus wasn't exactly capable of speech at the time.  
  
Surprisingly, though, Dumbledore lifted a large gold watch out of his pocket, glanced at it, and opened  
the thick curtains around his window, revealing soft gray light. "Well, he's human for the time being.  
I suppose it would be good for him to see you."  
  
Astounded, Fi asked, "What time is it?"  
  
"Five-thirty in the morning. You've had quite an evening, haven't you?"  
  
Fi nodded mutely. "Can--can I go see Remus now?"  
  
He nodded solemnly. "Come with me."  
  
Fiona, lost in thought, didn't even pay attention to the various hallways she followed Dumbledore   
through. She just let herself follow the sweeping cloak in front of her and kept to herself. What would  
he say when he saw her? What would she do about the minister? How could she prove him innocent? And what  
would happen when she had to tell about Lucius, Aaron, and Severus? Would they get her into trouble?  
  
She stopped thinking as Dumbledore came to a stop in front of Flitwick's office. Argus Filch, the newly-  
hired caretaker, was guarding the door, a sour look on his face. After a moment of quiet muttering   
between Filch and the headmaster, Filch nodded in a rather resigned manner and unlocked the door for Fi.  
  
Fi stepped inside to find Remus huddled in a corner, asleep. The door shut behind her and she heard the   
lock click, and swallowed roughly. She didn't think anything bad would happen, as Remus was human, but  
then, she'd never been around a werewolf before. Much less right after the full moon. She knelt down  
next to his sleeping form and brushed his hair out of his face.   
  
With a slight yelp, his eyes flew open and he backed into the corner, surprising Fi and making her give   
a small shout of surprise as well. He saw who she was and hid his face in his hands. Fiona wasn't sure  
what to make of this until she noticed his shoulders were shaking from trying not to cry. Feeling a   
horrid twisting sensation in her chest, she scooted over next to him and wrapped him in a hug, not   
wanting to cry in front of him and make him feel worse.  
  
"Fi, I didn't do it," he murmured hoarsely, sounding muffled. "I don't know who did, but I swear I   
didn't do it."  
  
"Of course you didn't," she said, squeezing him tighter, for both her emotions and his. "Oh, what are   
they thinking? You couldn't've! I'll go talk to Dumbledore and get you out of here!"  
  
"Actually, I could have..." Remus mumbled. "For all everyone knows, it's very possible. What's the   
point? Let them lock me up. I don't care. It'd be better that way."  
  
"No, don't..." Fi said. "Don't talk like that."  
  
"Why the hell shouldn't I?" he yelled angrily, pulling away from her and looking at the wall. "It's   
going to happen!"  
  
"You don't know that...Everything will be okay, Remus--"  
  
"No, it won't! It never is! I go through this once a month, and have for years and years, and I will  
for the rest of my life! I can never have a family for fear of attacking or killing one of them! I can  
never get work! I will be shunned from the wizarding world for the rest of my life! Why not lock me up?  
Put me out of my misery now!"  
  
"Just stop it!" Fi said, fighting tears.  
  
"No, you stop!" he hissed angrily. "You haven't the SLIGHTEST idea what It's like..."  
  
Fiona backed away, hurt, and covered her mouth with one hand. Remus sighed. "Fi, I--" She shook her   
head. "Fi, please..."  
  
She turned back to face him, angry, but felt it melt away when she saw the look on his face. His eyes   
were so sad and frightened-looking. Somehow, she knew to just hold out her arms, and he fell into   
them. "Nothing's going to happen, Remus. I promise," she murmured, letting him wrap his arms around her.  
  
"You can't promise that."  
  
"I just did. And I meant it."  
  
He squeezed her tighter. "I just..." His voice broke and he trailed off.  
  
She squeezed him tightly as well. "Shhh..."  
  
He shook slightly, and she was surprised to find that he was crying. She pulled him away for a moment.   
"Oh, come now..." she said, not quite sure where she was going with that statement.  
  
He wiped his eyes quickly, determined not to let her see him in that state. "God, I'm tired of this..."   
he murmured. She pulled him into her arms again and he buried his face in her shoulder. "I'll always be   
blamed." His voice sounded muffled. "Why did I have to have been so stupid? Why couldn't I have stayed   
away from that forest when I was small? Why?"  
  
She squeezed her arms tighter around him and he finished crying. Wiping his eyes furiously, he sat up.   
"I'm sorry, Fi. I just..."  
  
They both looked up as the door opened and Filch stepped in cautiously. "You'll have to leave, now, Miss  
McLellan. The minister arrives in about ten minutes."  
  
Fi glanced at Remus. His face conveyed no emotion whatsoever, and it hurt Fi to know he'd already given  
up. "Yes, sir." She stood and started towards the door, but Remus called her back.  
  
"Fi?"  
  
She turned. "Yes?" she managed. Her voice cracked, revealing the tears she'd been trying to hide.  
  
He looked at her seriously with his dark brown eyes. "It'll be okay."  
  
She nodded quickly, biting her lip to keep from crying, and left the room with one hand over her mouth,  
bursting into quiet sobs as she heard the door shut and lock behind her. At a loss for what she was   
going to do, she ran back to her common room, ignoring the stares she received from the other occupants,  
and threw open the door to her dormitory. Lily, who had been brushing through her hair, stood up when  
she saw her friend in tears. "Oh, Fi, what's happened?"  
  
In between fresh waves of tears, Fi told Lily everything--the faeries, Remus, Snape, the plot--  
everything. Lily didn't even bat an eye. She listened intently, occasionally offering a sympathetic  
hug.  
  
Once Fi was through, Lily stood up and paced back and forth for a moment. Then she turned. "Fi, it's  
gonna be okay."  
  
Fi wiped her eyes quickly. "How?"  
  
Lily crossed her arms, biting her lip in thought. "We're going to go talk to Sirius and James. They'll  
have a lot to say in this matter."  
  
"That's the master plan?" Fi asked incredulously. "Sirius and James?"  
  
Lily almost smiled. "You've not had a chance to see them in action before...Trust me. If anyone can   
get a bunch of evil Slytherin boys in trouble, it's them. And," she added, "they'll be especially  
keen since it's SNAPE we're talking about here." She paced a moment longer, then grabbed Fi's wrist,   
pulling her up. "Off to Gryffindor tower, then!"  
  
"How will we--?"  
  
Lily shrugged dismissively. "How do you think I see James so often?"  
  
Fiona stared at her. "But...You're a Slytherin..."  
  
"And?" Lily asked, giving her a laughing green-eyed stare. "Your point is?"  
  
"Well, I just thought..."  
  
Lily shrugged again, leading Fi through various hallways. "That's exactly it. There's always a way, Fi,  
no matter what the odds are. There's always SOME possibility. And believe me, these two twits can find  
it for you."  
  
They came to a portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress, asleep at the moment, and Lily cleared her   
throat loudly, causing her to wake up. She yawned and looked at them. "Oh, hello dear. Back again?"  
  
"Yep." Lily pulled Fi up next to her as well. "And I need a favor."  
  
The fat lady raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"  
  
"Can you grant her permission, too? I mean, she's a painter!"  
  
Fi shrugged. "Sort of..."  
  
"Good enough for me," the fat lady said. "Right, then. You can go in."  
  
The portrait swung forward and Lily pulled Fi into the hidden room beyond. 


	4. Parts 7 & 8

Fa A Bhialainn Ann  
Parts 7 & 8  
by Veralidaine  
  
Part 7  
  
"Sirius, calm down--"  
  
"I will NOT calm down, Prongs. No" --Fiona refrained from cringing at the use of language-- "way I'm   
gonna let this go! I wondered where he disappeared to, but I didn't know...That little..."  
  
James sighed, holding his friends collar to keep him from running straight to the Slytherin commons and  
beating the pulp out of Snape. "Sirius, please stop. Just for a sec'. We'll think of something."  
  
Lily gave him a pleading look, and Sirius stopped momentarily. Annelle sighed loudly and waltzed over,   
shooting Fi a sympathetic glance before smacking Sirius over the head with the roll of parchment she'd   
been doing her Transfiguration homework on. "Sirius, sweetie, you're going about this all wrong. You   
too, James. Think logically: What is the situation?"  
  
Sirius opened his mouth to say something snide, but Annelle shot him a look and he closed it again,   
though resentfully. Annelle took a deep breath. "Look, guys, if we go over the facts, it will be MUCH   
easier to find a solution. Okay. Remus is currently under guard of the ministry, and to be tried...uh...  
tomorrow afternoon, I think."  
  
Fi nodded. "Yes. That's what I was told."  
  
"Right," Annelle said, serious for once. "He didn't do it. A big mean doggie did. What's the difference  
between when a big mean doggie bites someone and when a werewolf bites someone?"  
  
James suddenly smiled. "Big mean doggies don't make you turn into a werewolf."  
  
"Right," Annelle said. "Sprout's not going to get all fuzzy on us, so we can use that for evidence.  
Also, Fi heard the boys plotting, right?"  
  
"Right," Fi said determinedly. Lucius, Aaron, and Severus might make her life miserable from now on, but  
she wasn't about to let them get away with this.  
  
"Now," Annelle said thoughtfully. "Here's the tricky part. Yes, Sprout might be okay. Yes, Fi might  
testify against those maggots. But, where's our PHYSICAL evidence? We gotta have good, solid proof."  
  
"The dog..." Fi murmured.  
  
"Well, I guess," Annelle said, shrugging. "But I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with that anyway.   
How could you get the dog? I mean, it's off in the forest somewhere."   
  
"The FORBIDDEN forest, I might add," James said. "It's called that for a reason, you know."  
  
Lily made a sarcastic noise and shook her head. "James, don't be stupid. As if you've never gone into  
the forest."  
  
James shrugged. "Yeah, but it's still a dangerous thing to do. And we're not sending just ANYONE."  
  
Fi crossed her arms. "And what's THAT supposed to mean?"  
  
James shrugged again. "I'm not insulting you. I just think that since Sirius, Peter, and I--"  
  
"Huh?" Peter, who had been across the room working on his homework looked up. "James, I really don't   
think..."  
  
"Scared, Peter?" Sirius challenged.  
  
"Well, no, I--"  
  
"I think you are," Sirius said.  
  
"I'm not, it's just--"  
  
"You're scared." Sirius grinned and perched on the arm of a nearby chair, giving the smaller boy a  
piercing stare. "I can tell."  
  
"I'm not scared. This is STUPID!" Peter slammed his quill down on the table, crossing his arms.  
  
"Why?" Sirius asked. "Why is it stupid to risk ourselves for a friend? Remus is important to us, isn't   
he? Don't you think he's worth it? Wouldn't he do the same for you? Hmm?"  
  
Peter opened his mouth to say something, closed it, opened it again, then shook his head. "Fine. But   
that doesn't make it any less dangerous! I mean, that dog thing is probably running around in the   
middle of that huge forest, looking for a snack. First off, the forest's dangerous without the dog.   
Second, the forest's REALLY dangerous now, WITH the dog. Third, how could we FIND the dog? I mean...It's  
fairly impossible, isn't it?"  
  
"Nothing is impossible!" Sirius cried, striking a dramatic pose.  
  
"Yes!" James agreed, with equal enthusiasm.  
  
"Actually..." Fi was immediately shushed. Crossing her arms, she sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll be   
optimistic." She twirled a finger in the air idly. "Yay for us."  
  
"Why're you put out?" Lily asked curiously.  
  
Fi sighed again. "Look, if anyone's going to go look for this thing, it's me. I can protect myself."  
  
Lily, who finally had been told of Fi's powers, nodded with understanding, while Sirius tried in vain  
to refrain from sniggering. "Uhm, Fi, uh...Wands don't always work, you know, and you're not exactly  
ATHLETIC, so I don't think...I mean to say that maybe James, Peter and I should--"  
  
"She's a fae-speaker," Lily interrupted, crossing her arms. "She can call the faeries to help her if she   
has need. Can YOU do that, guys?"  
  
James shrugged. "Uhm..."  
  
"The answer is 'no.'" Lily said softly.  
  
"'Kay." He looked sheepish.  
  
Sirius was staring at Fiona, obviously somewhere between annoyance and amazement. "You can talk to   
faeries? Like, get them to do stuff for you? D'you have ANY idea how valuable that is?"  
  
"If you're asking me to ransack the Slytherin commons, I already did."  
  
"Really?" Sirius asked, leaping up from the chair. "Cool!" He frowned. "Why wasn't I invited? I would've   
liked to watch--"  
  
"Shut up, Padfoot." James sighed loudly. "We've gotta figure out about the dog." He looked up at Fi. "So  
you really want to do this?"  
  
"Yes," Fi said firmly.  
  
James sighed again. "Okay. We'll speak for Remus' trial, but you still have to be there as well, to   
testify against Malfoy, Parkinson, and Snape."  
  
Fi nodded. "Right."  
  
Sirius nodded, apparently deep in thought. He grabbed Fi's sleeve as she and Lily headed for the   
portrait hole. "Hey, d'you want to take Peter as bait?" He grinned.  
  
"Would you really do that to a friend?" Fi asked playfully. "I mean, would he do that to YOU?"  
  
Sirius sighed, smiling slightly. "Nah. Peter, even though he's...well...PETER...Would never do something  
to put any of us in danger. He's not the type to betray people."  
  
Fi offered a quick smile and followed Lily out of the portrait hole.  
  
***  
  
Holding her cloak tighty around her, Fi strode across the cold, dark grounds towards the forest. It   
frightened her to think about what she might meet inside the seemingly endless woods, but she merely  
shook her head to clear it and kept going.  
  
Occasionally, a nighttime bird or insect would make a chirruping noise and Fi would jump, trying to stay  
on the path visible by the feebly dim light of her wandtip. Once, a large something ran across the path   
a few yards ahead. Fiona thought she heard hooves, but wasn't sure. Another time, she could have sworn  
something huge and hairy crunched through the forest somewhere to her right. Due to the darkness,   
though, she couldn't see it properly. She decided afterwards that she was rather glad, really.  
  
About three hours later, she was starting to lose hope. After all, this WAS a huge forest, and only ONE  
dog, and only herself searching. What if she never found it? What if something found her first? What if  
Remus was declaired guilty? She shuddered at the thought of him in Azkaban. Sixteen was far too young to  
be imprisoned.  
  
Fi stopped suddenly, in the darkness, and listened. She had DEFINITELY heard something, and what REALLY  
frightened her was that it was behind her. As soon as she stopped moving, her persuer stopped as well.   
Very, very softly, Fi moved ahead, avoiding fallen twigs or leaves that might make noise. There went  
the sound again: t-tlot, t-tlot, t-tlot...something like that.  
  
Moving off the path, Fi quietly slid through the dark brambles and bushes, hoping whatever was making   
that noise wouldn't follow. To her dismay, she heard the sound coming closer. Throwing all caution to  
the winds, she broke into a run. The sound behind her quickened, and soon was gaining on her. Again.  
  
Fi didn't claim to be an athelete, and it was tiresome to run, even though she feared whatever was   
chasing her. Who knew what it was, or what it was capable of? Still, it was so hard to keep running, and  
she was getting tired and out of breath...Panting, she darted to one side, only to nearly slam into a   
tree trunk. Lurching the other way, something caught on her foot and she fell forward, giving a small  
yelp. Cursing softly at herself, she waited for the monster that would inevitably find her, now that her  
little "eep" of surprise had given away her postition. But it wasn't a monster that came. As the   
creature stepped into a small patch of moonlight, Fi's jaw dropped.  
  
The centaurette had long, straight, ebony-black hair and flashing gray eyes. Even in the dim moonlight,   
her ivory-colored skin shone brighter than even Fi's paleness. One black hoof pawed the ground in  
impatience. "What business have you here, human?"  
  
Overcoming the shock of hearing the melodic voice issue from such a wild-looking creature, Fi swallowed.  
"I, uhm, am looking for...something, and I...erm..."  
  
Impatiently brushing the dark cascade of hair behind her shoulders, the centaurette threw her head back  
and gazed up at the sky. "Hmm. Venus." She looked back down at Fi. "What do you seek?"  
  
"Emm...A really big, monstrous dog-thing. It--uh--ran into here last night, and I was just trying to--"  
  
"Capture it?" Hollow laughter. "How very interesting."  
  
"Interesting?" Fi asked, hoping she wasn't being too nosy.  
  
"My foal was chased just the other day by a large, black dog."  
  
"Y--your foal?" Fi hadn't meant for another question to come out, but it did.  
  
"Yes. Luckily, Bane was able to protect her."  
  
"Oh. Uhm...Well, that's...That's good. Yeah." Fi pulled her cloak tighter around her. "So...Have you   
seen the great brute since?"  
  
Gray eyes shot an amused look at her. "No, I've not. I thought you might be the dog, so I decided to   
investigate. However, you don't run nearly fast enough."  
  
Fi blushed. "Uhm...Okay. Well. Thanks, anyway."  
  
She turned to go, but the centaurette called after her: "Human!"  
  
Fi turned. "Uh...yes?"  
  
"There is something odd about you."  
  
Fi raised an eyebrow. "Mmm-kay...Bye."  
  
"Not just yet."  
  
Fiona turned again. "What do you want?"  
  
"What is my name?"  
  
'Great. Twenty Questions in the Forbidden Forest with a centaurette,' Fi thought. "No clue."  
  
"Really, human, if you are what I THINK you are, you should know. Think."  
  
Puzzled by this, Fi stared for a moment, then closed her eyes. 'Okay, names...Names, names, names. What  
the heck d'you name a centaur?' Then, suddenly, a little voice in the back of her head yelled,   
'Demeter!'  
  
"Demeter?" Fi guessed, shrugging.  
  
The centaurette smiled mysteriously. "How VERY interesting. Correct."  
  
Fi frowned. "Lucky guess, then."  
  
"What's my foal's name?"  
  
There was that little voice again. "Melea?"  
  
"Correct again, human. My, my, my...I've never met one like you."  
  
"What d'you mean?" Fi was definitely discomforted. What was this nutcase of a creature on about?  
  
"You are strange to talk to..." Demeter said softly, daintily stepping closer on those black hooves.   
"Your thoughts jumble with your words."  
  
"What ARE you on about?" Fi finally burst out, tired of this odd game.  
  
Demeter looked rather taken aback. "You mean you don't know? Human, you are not what you seem. I can  
hear your thoughts, and that is most irregular."  
  
Fi stepped back. "You can...read my thoughts?"  
  
Demeter shook her magnificent head. "Not quite...You are too reliant on speaking to humans. You have not  
allowed yourself to do otherwise. Elsewise I could." Demeter paused, as if hearing something no one else  
could. "Who is Remus?"  
  
Fi's jaw dropped. "How...did you...?"  
  
Demeter smiled, but suddenly stopped. "Oh, no..."  
  
A feeling of dread overcame Fi. Turning, she saw something prowling towards her in the darkness. Red   
eyes, long fangs, and about five feet tall at the shoulder, the Grim came towards them. Demeter gave  
a loud cry and took off at a fast gallop. Fi followed, wondering vaguely where they were going, but   
concentrating more on the fanged, hungry monster behind her.  
  
Soon, the sound of galloping ahead had died away, and Fi was running by herself, trying not to lose hope  
as the mad baying of the dog behind her grew ever closer. Panting, Fi grabbed her wand from her pocket.  
"Point me."  
  
The wand tip spun to the opposite direction of the way she was facing. If she continued running South,   
like this, she would eventually come upon the lake. Maybe then she could escape the thing and still keep   
it on the grounds so she could capture it...  
  
What seemed like hours later, Fi felt like collapsing with exhaustion. The dog was drawing ever closer,  
and she couldn't run forever. When she was finally ready to give up, the trees began to thin, and the   
lake came into view. Given a little burst of energy at the sight of it, Fi ran forward and jumped in,   
scared that maybe the giant dog would be able to follow her. It didn't. It just barked and growled   
angrily from the shore, and Fiona dived down into the cool water, letting it flow through her hair and  
clothes, reassuring her. She came up for air and saw the dog pacing the shoreline, waiting for her to  
climb out.  
  
Diving under again, she began swimming for the opposite end. There were rocks there--maybe she could  
hide there until she caught her breath. As she dove under, a wonderful feeling overcame her and she   
suddenly felt at peace. Not understanding quite what it meant, Fi kept swimming. She started, still  
underwater, as her cloak fell off, and then her robes slipped down as well. 'What the--?' An odd  
sensation overcame her, and she was suddenly able to swim with much more ease.  
  
Coming up for air, she shook her head, looking around. There were the rocks. She swam to them and   
attempted to climb up, only to discover something truly disturbing.  
  
She had flippers. Instead of hands.  
  
Crawling up and onto the rocks as best she could, she looked down to see her reflection and nearly   
fainted. As if giant dangerous dogs, bizzarre centaurettes, and running for the past hour or so hadn't  
been enough, to look into the water and see a seal in the spot where her reflection belonged was too  
much. She gave a small cry, blinked, and looked again. There was the little gray seal--right where her  
human face should have been. She lifted one hand; the seal lifted a flipper.  
  
Closing her eyes, she huddled into a little ball and shook her head wildly. There was that odd sensation  
again...When she looked, nothing but a naked girl showed in her reflection. How in the world had THAT  
happened? Had she imagined it?  
  
"Oxygen deprivation..." Fi muttered. "Exhaustion. Those peppermint humbugs at dinner tonight...My God,  
I DIDN'T just turn into a seal and back again...That's mental..."  
  
*"Was there anything unusual about your grandmother?"* Dumbledore had guessed...But still...  
  
*"Ma said she died. That's what her Da told her."* What if she hadn't died? What if she HAD left? What   
if--  
  
It was all a little too much. Fi closed her eyes. 'The task at hand. Yeah. The dog.'  
  
Standing up, Fi toddled down the rock and onto the grass, wondering where she was going to get some  
clothes. She would capture the dog, save Remus, and everything would be okay again. Then she could   
ponder her own mental health. But right now, she needed clothes.  
  
After all, she couldn't exactly feel brave naked.  
  
***  
  
"Here you are, Fae-speaker," Firebell said, dropping Fi's robes at her feet. "Why, may I ask, have you  
graced us all with your...emm...nudity?"  
  
Fi glared. "I've had one hell of an evening. I don't need lecturing from a fire-pixy. Thanks for the   
robes. Bye."  
  
Huffily, Firebell disappeared with a soft popping noise. Fi sighed, pulling on the robes. Now all she  
had to do was get the dog. She snorted. "Oh, yeah. That's ALL."  
  
Emerging from her hiding place among the rocks, she saw it come bounding towards her, evil eyes glinting  
red in the dawn light. Closing her eyes, Fi called them. 'After spending the entire evening saving   
energy for this,' she thought, 'they'd better come.' And come they did.  
  
The dog yelped as it was driven back into the chain and collar Fi had stolen from the hidden room in   
Slytherin house.  
  
Fi stared as the fae disappeared, leaving only the dog, biting and clawing, but unable to reach her. As  
she stood there, taking in everything and turning over the past evening's events in her mind, it all   
became too much. Leaning on a nearby rock for support, she called Firebell.  
  
"Yes, Fae-speaker?"  
  
"Firebell, please go get Lily for me. She's...She's in the common room. Tell her I've...I've got the  
dog." Fiona closed her eyes and allowed her tired body to sink to the ground. And all was black.  
  
***  
Part 8  
***  
  
Fiona sat in the stands and glared as hard as she could at the boy standing next to the platform,   
speaking. Occasionally, and between lies, he would turn and offer a swift smirk in her direction. Fi,  
however, was a little too tired to care. She just glared harder, until it was actually painful.  
  
The courtroom itself was not terribly welcoming. It was a large, stone room, with tiered seats, like in  
a stadium. At least a hundred witches and wizards sat in these seats, watching Lucius Malfoy speak. The  
jury was seated in a separate section, taking notes silently and obviously believing every word of the  
speech. Then, next to where Lucius stood at his podium, a large, stage-like platform stood, raised by  
about a foot.  
  
On the platform was a horrible chair with long chains, snaking up the arms of its prisoner--at the   
moment, Remus Lupin. He watched with a horribly distant facial expression as Lucius told lie after lie  
to the jury, while they all listened intently. Lucius' father was also present, nodding vigorously at  
everything his son said.   
  
"And once, a fellow Slytherin, Severus, was nearly eaten by the monster! Lupin is indeed capable of  
murder, and the fact that he's a werewolf doesn't excuse him!"  
  
Fi was so outraged that she jumped up, but Lily grabbed the back of Fi's robes and pulled her back   
into her seat. Lily muttered, "Calm down; you'll have your say."  
  
"That horrid little..."  
  
Lily shushed her as Severus Snape stood to speak. He glanced nervously at Fi, then at Lucius and Aaron,  
who had already spoken, and then his dark eyes flitted back to Fi again. He sighed loudly, very   
obviously nervous. Then he cleared his throat. "I do admit that I was nearly attacked by the wer--Lupin,  
but I must also admit that I had gone after him, not the other way around."  
  
"Of course you did, you ignorant--" Several ministry guards restrained Sirius, who had leapt up at this.  
  
Nervously ignoring this, Severus continued. "I do think that Remus Lupin is a danger to the school, but  
I think that, perhaps..." --he looked doubtful-- "...Perhaps...Extra cautions could be taken to ensure   
that nothing of this caliber should occur ever again." He gave Fiona a short glance and stepped down.  
  
"We will now call to the stands..." The judge paused. "Fiona McLellan, another student."  
  
Remus looked up momentarily as Fi stood and walked down to the stands, her footsteps echoing in the   
silence of the room. The judge, she saw, had graying hair that was parted almost painfully straight and  
a stiff, straight mustache. He was intimidating, really, and Fiona swallowed roughly, steeling herself  
up to the task before her. "I...was outside on the evening of the attack. I saw everything. Remus Lupin,  
though he is a werewolf, is kept in the safest, most secure places during his transformations, and   
would not, COULD not, hurt anyone. While awake one evening, at about three AM, I managed to overhear  
several boys plotting to release a dangerously vicious dog, framing Remus."  
  
After the initial shock of hearing her strong accent, the crowd murmured softly at this news. The man  
at the stand pounded with a large gavel for silence. "These boys' names were...?"  
  
Fi swallowed roughly again. "Lucius Malfoy," --gasps from the crowd-- "Aaron Parkinson," --more  
murmuring-- "and Severus Snape."  
  
At this, Lucius' father stood and, looking indignant, yelled: "And we're going to take HER word for it?  
Against everyone else who has testified? Bartemius--"  
  
"But we have evidence!" Fi shrank back as everyone in the entire room turned to look at her.  
  
"What evidence?" The man called Bartemius leaned forward slightly, apparently somewhat intrigued by this  
news.  
  
"Emm...Well, I..." Fi looked at Lily and James, who both nodded encouragingly, and then at Sirius who,  
fighting the guards who were still restraining him, nodded vigorously. Annelle smiled at her. "I...Just  
a moment, please..."  
  
She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the angry sputtering noise that Mr. Malfoy made. 'Come to me,' she  
thought frantically. 'Please...It's important...' She stopped her concentration as the audience gasped  
loudly. Opening her eyes, she saw the huge dog being dragged into the room by several rather large  
faeries. The dog stopped struggling for a moment, spotted Lucius, and immediately started growling and  
leaping at him. The Fae managed to keep the beast contained, but it certainly gave them a job.  
  
Bartemius gave Fi an odd look before banging the gavel again. He finally had to shout, "QUIET!" before   
order was restored. He looked back at Fi again. "Miss McLellan, how did you--?"  
  
Fi sighed deeply. "I'm a Fae-speaker..."  
  
"See?" Mr. Malfoy said loudly. "See? You're going to take one of THEM for reliable, against MY son? I,  
who have done nothing but offer reliable service to the ministry? I, who have offered generous donations  
to MANY organizations, including St. Mungo's? And you're going to take this--girl's--word, instead of  
my SON'S?"  
  
Fi couldn't help but think that Mr. Malfoy looked slightly deranged, yelling this to the public. But  
her slight fear of the many dignified, PURE-BLOODED wizards in the room wasn't going to stop her from  
continuing. "And there's more."  
  
Now the room was silent again, aside from Mr. Malfoy, who now had joined Sirius in the back of the room,  
restrained by several strong ministry officials. Everyone was looking at her again, and Fi swallowed.  
"Emm...Professor Sprout isn't a werewolf. If Remus had attacked her, she would be."  
  
"You can't prove that!" Mr. Malfoy yelled. "You don't know until the full moon!"  
  
"Actually, Orion, we can."  
  
Fi jumped at the sound of Dumbledore's voice. Apparently, he had managed to attend without her noticing  
he'd arrived. Mr. Malfoy looked highly affronted. "What ARE you talking about, Albus?"  
  
"We have developed different potions, methods, and spells to conclude whether one is indeed a werewolf.   
For example, we have found that if the attack victim has a definite change in dental configuration   
approximately two days after the attack, then they are indeed a werewolf. It is true in all cases, if   
you take the time to do the required research." Dumbledore gave a quiet smile as Malfoy positively  
writhed in anger.  
  
Fi gave an appreciative sigh as she was allowed to step down and return to her seat. Lily and James had  
their say (Sirius was still being restrained, so he wasn't able to testify), and then the jury was to  
make their decision. Fi waited tensely in her seat for the next twenty minutes, and finally the group   
of witches and wizards filed back into the room.  
  
"All finding Remus Lupin guilty, please raise your wands now." One lone wizard brought his wand in the  
air. "All finding Remus Lupin innocent, please raise your wands." Everyone else in the jury raised their  
wands high into the air. The painfully well-groomed judge sighed. "Due to a request from Raksha and  
Akela Lupin, and from Albus Dumbledore, no further charges will be pressed against young Malfoy, Snape,  
and Parkinson other than the punishment their parents see as fitting. Dismissed."  
  
Several guards took the huge dog as the faeries disappeared, grateful to be freed of their burden. Fi  
watched as the crowds in the room gradually dispersed, and she then glanced at the platform where Remus  
was. The chains slid limply off of his arms and Fi practically leapt over those in front of her to  
reach him and envelop him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Thank you,"   
he muttered.  
  
"What?" she muttered back. "D'you think I'd let them take you for something you didn't do? I just wish I  
could have helped sooner..."  
  
He lifted her chin up, making her meet his eyes, and she felt giddy. At that precise moment, Fi just   
KNEW he was going to kiss her--but he didn't. Unfortunately, Sirius hit Remus with the force of a small  
rocket, hugging him and shouting rather vulgar things about Lucius for the entire courtroom to hear.  
  
Fi looked over to where Lily and James were standing nearby--they'd obviously seen the interrupted   
moment. Lily smiled and gave a little sympathetic shrug, while James smacked his head repeatedly with   
the palm of his hand, muttering "Padfoot you idiot..." prompting Fi to wonder just what it was with  
the two of them and romance.  
  
Right now, though, she didn't care. As Remus found his parents, Fi sighed happily, all of the stress  
from the past weeks disappearing as easily as the Fae had.  
  
***  
  
"So you talk to faeries?"  
  
Fi hesitated. "Yes..."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"Why didn't YOU tell ME you were a werewolf?"  
  
Fi and Remus were seated on a bench near the ice-skating pond in Hogsmeade, enjoying the first snow of  
the year. The pond had frozen over, and preferring to watch rather than skate, Fi had seated herself  
nearby, laughing at Sirius' attempts to skate.   
  
"Well, I was dangerous!" Remus muttered.   
  
"So you couldn't have told me that? Rather than avoiding me all of a sudden? What was that about?" Remus  
shrugged blankly. Fi shook her head. "You seemed okay with being dangerous there for awhile, what   
inspired you to think otherwise?"  
  
He just shrugged again, saw the look on her face, and sighed. "I just got to thinking about it, and..."  
He trailed off, shrugging again. "I just don't think it's a good idea for...Well...I'm a danger to you,  
and even though...But I still...You know what I mean."  
  
"Actually, I don't."  
  
He gave her an exhasperated glance. "Must you ALWAYS make me say things outright?"  
  
"Yes." She glanced at him, eyebrows raised. "I don't want to be given HINTS as to what you mean. Just  
SAY it." She settled back onto the bench, pursing her lips.  
  
"Well," he sighed resignedly, "Severus was kind enough to point out the fact that I was a danger to you,  
and that your...emm...FAWNING...was just more reason why I ought to keep away from you. And he was not  
far from correct, I'm afraid..."  
  
"Oh, don't be an IDIOT." Fi shook her head. "You're not dangerous to me! I mean, I went into the   
forbidden forest, captured a giant, angry dog, and encountered enough scary and very likely dangerous  
creatures to scare any normal person out of their skins, and yet I managed to keep my wits about me and  
even came to your trial and helped you there. If you think I can't handle your little problem, then you  
are GRAVELY mistaken."  
  
He laughed disbelievingly. "Fi," he said, "I turn into a monster! I'm a danger to myself and everyone  
else around me! Just because you can talk to faeries and wander around in forests isn't going to change  
that!"  
  
"Want to bet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"It was a rhetorical question," she muttered angrily.  
  
Remus glared at his hands, not speaking. Fi pulled her cloak tighter around her, annoyed beyond anything  
else she'd felt. "D'you know, you're the only person outside of my own family that I ever cared about  
this much," she said softly. "D'you have any idea how important that is? To me?"  
  
He ran a hand over his eyes. "This is exactly my point."  
  
"You're being ridiculous!" she said hotly, standing up. "Don't you see? I DON'T CARE! I can defend   
myself! I've got the fae--they won't let me get hurt!" She sat down next to him and he looked at her  
wearily. She leaned in close to him."I'm not afraid of you," she muttered. "Don't try to make me. It   
won't work."  
  
He smiled softly and leaned his forehead against hers. "You are impossible, Fiona McLellan."  
  
She grinned, knowing she'd won for the moment. "I know."  
  
"Not many girls would want to even associate with someone like me."  
  
"You still should have told me."  
  
"I was afraid to," he muttered, leaning back again and watching Sirius trip over his own feet and go   
sprawling down on the ice, making Annelle laugh.  
  
They both grinned as Sirius tried and failed to get up. Fi leaned over to get Remus' attention. "Am I  
really that scary?"  
  
He sighed, took one of her small hands in his large ones, and looked her in the eye. "You've no idea..."  
  
"What d'you mean?" she asked, somewhat nervously. WHY did he have that effect on her?  
  
"I think," he said slowly, "you're the only girl who'll remain friends with me even though I turn into   
a fully-fledged monster once a month."  
  
"Well, it's one of the biggest secrets of womankind, but," she lowered her voice to a joking whisper,   
"most women turn into fully-fledged monsters once a month, too. Myself included."  
  
He laughed loudly. "Oh, now let's not be vulgar."  
  
"You thought it was funny; admit it."  
  
"I did not."  
  
"Yes, you did."  
  
"I did not!"  
  
"Oh, yes you did; you laughed."  
  
"That doesn't mean a thing..."  
  
Fi grinned. At least he wasn't AS depressed anymore. Well, temporarily, anyway.  
  
***  
  
Settling down in her bed that evening, Fi climbed underneath the covers and fluffed her pillows,  
determined to get at least SOME sleep that evening, for a change. Lying there, however, she tossed and  
turned, unable to find sleep, as thoughts crowded into her mind that she had been unable to shake off  
since her trip into the woods...  
  
What had that centaurette been on about, or was she merely insane? And as far as that went, was Fiona  
insane? She HAD seen herself as a seal...But only momentarily...But if she WAS hallucinating, why did  
she lose her clothes in the lake? They were snug-fitting earlier...And further more, if her lessons in  
science were correct, seals didn't EVER go in lakes--they were animals of the sea. So how in the world  
had SHE been able to survive the lake? She had to have been hallucinating...But the memory of the water  
rushing past her as she flew through the lake was quite strong, and unlike anything else she'd ever   
experienced.  
  
Thinking about swimming in the lake, and the ease of flying through the water, even if it DID involve  
fins, was a lovely thought. She was disturbed to find that she even wished she could do it again. Firmly  
shaking her head to herself, she pulled the covers up higher, to her chin. She wasn't going to go   
wandering in the dead of night to go see if she could become a seal again. Who knew if she even could?   
If she HADN'T, in fact, been hallucinating, then maybe she could only turn into a seal when she was in  
danger, or afraid. Possibly too exhausted to continue swimming in her present form.  
  
Now, of course, she had peaked her own curiosity. Mentally slapping herself, she sat up, actually   
considering going down to the lake. Part of her was yelling that it was a silly thing to do; that it   
wasn't possible for her to change into a seal, no matter what she thought or wished. IT was stupid.  
On the other hand, another part of her that was vastly unfamiliar was positively screaming its need to  
be in the water again, ocean or otherwise. This part of her was somewhat frightening in that it seemed  
very--wild--somehow. Wild and unafraid. And VERY strong.  
  
Without even realizing she'd been walking, she found herself padding across the grounds, the grass   
under her feet frosted with snow from that afternoon. Somehow, that wild, untamed part of her soul just  
KNEW that the lake wasn't frozen over; that it was there and safe and ready for her. And it was.  
  
The water gently lapped at her bare feet, and she closed her eyes, thinking. Thinking about the sea,   
about Ireland, about the way the wind used to whip her face on those hot summer days when she'd swim  
freely out in the ocean, just enjoying the sun above and the soft sand below...Occasionally, from a long  
way off, she'd hear strange sounds that sounded oddly familiar. Thinking of it later, she supposed it   
was mer-song, though she wasn't sure. It made sense to her, somehow, though she didn't know why...  
  
The images together--the sunny beach, the salty breeze, and the strange, haunting song of the sea--all  
melted together in a whirl of senses, and suddenly she felt oddly liberated, gliding through the waters.  
Though she didn't know why she took comfort in it, she did, and soon enough nothing was wrong.   
Everything, in fact, was wonderful.  
  
The lake seemed so open to her, not just murky depths at the edge of the forest. Swimming through the   
dark kelp and water plants, she saw small silver fishes darting around as one, and occasionally a  
grindylow or two, though they never touched her, for some odd reason. Occasionally, something shiny   
would catch her attention, and she'd dive down to have a look. Usually, it turned out to be a coin of  
some sort, or perhaps a bit of jewelry, probably dropped by a first year on their traditional boat ride  
to the castle.  
  
After coming up for air shortly, she dove down again and found, to her surprise, a mer-village. As it  
was dark, most of the mer-people were in thier small huts, though a few still lingered outside, most   
likely guarding the village. They stared at her as she passed, looking curious. One of them said   
something in its screetchy language to the other, and Fi stopped short, flippers freezing mid-stroke.  
  
She'd understood.   
  
He'd said, "Odd--I have never seen a seal here before, have you?" to the other merman. She knew it   
somehow, though she was absolutely POSITIVE that she didn't know mermish.   
  
Well, at least, a MOMENT ago she didn't know mermish, because now the other merman responded, and she  
understood him, too: "No, I have not. Where do you suppose it came from?"  
  
"I do not know," the first one said. "Perhaps the school?"  
  
"Why would a seal attend school?" said the other. "Think about it."  
  
The first one shrugged, and they both turned to stare at Fi. "It gives me a headache."  
  
"Yes, me too."  
  
"Should we kill it?"  
  
The other shrugged. "All right, then."  
  
At this, Fi swam as fast as her little fins would carry her away from the mermen, who, unknown to her,  
were laughing rather loudly at this. Fearing for her life, she kept swimming, eventually coming to the  
rocks. Panting both from the swim and from lack of air, she clumsily climbed up and just sat for a   
moment, breathing hard. Closing her eyes, she thought about what it all meant. Maybe she'd use Annelle's  
method: State the obvious, find the solution.  
  
First off, she WASN'T dreaming, OR hallucinating. She knew that now. So she could turn into a seal.   
Well. That was certainly something odd. But, apparently it was true. As to the fact that suddenly and  
spontaniously, she could speak mermish, well that was confusing. Quite confusing, really. She decided  
she'd just have to talk to Dumbledore. After all, he already knew about the fae. And he would, of   
course, have all the answers. He always did. It was the unspoken rule of life at Hogwarts--Dumbledore  
had the solution. Period.  
  
She closed her eyes, expecting the strange feeling that seemed normal during transformations, but to  
her surprise, nothing happened. 'Maybe I just didn't feel it...' she thought nervously, but then a   
glance at her reflection in the water below proved her wrong. There she was--gray and whiskery with  
large flippers for hands. She was still a seal. And try as she might, she couldn't change back. 


	5. Parts 9 & 10

Fa A Bhialainn Ann  
Parts 9 & 10  
by Veralidaine  
  
Part 9  
  
She closed her eyes again, trying to fight the nagging feeling in her little seal stomach that maybe she  
WOULDN'T be able to transform back into herself. 'Don't panic, don't panic...'  
  
Looking to her left, she noticed a orange-ish glow coming from the east. Sunrise. That meant classes  
weren't far away. And she was a seal. Frantically, she closed her eyes again, hoping against hope that  
she would transform back again. Looking in the water once more, she still saw the little whiskery face  
looking right back at her. Yes, now was definitely the time to panic.  
  
Climbing (well, waddling, really) down from the rocks, she landed on the soft grass with a soft sort of  
"flump" noise. Great--now her stomach hurt. Unfortunately, seal eyes weren't nearly as good as her  
human eyes above water, so it was difficult to make out the face of the person walking a few yards away,  
apparently just enjoying the frosty air. She recognized the walk--easy-going and yet cautious--this was  
Remus. She tried to yell, but all that came out of her throat was a rather ugly, raspy, barking noise.   
It got his attention, though.  
  
Curiously, he walked over to the rocks and briefly looked about for what had made the racket. The human  
and GIRL part of Fi wanted her to be embarrassed, but the more sensible part that was unrelated   
whatsoever to her giggly side tood control. She waddled out from behind the rocks and Remus stared at   
her, confusion very apparent.   
  
She wasn't sure what exactly prompted her to do so--maybe it was just the fact that she was panicking   
and beyond real reasoning, but she just kept thinking, 'It's me, Fiona! It's me!' over and over again   
inside her mind. Remus, who had been staring at her, still puzzled by the presence of a seal on the   
school grounds, put his hand to his forehead, as if suffering from a headache. After shaking his head  
for a moment, as if to clear it, he looked down at her incredulously. "Uhm...You're not...?"  
  
She nodded vigorously and his jaw dropped. He quickly closed it. "Why are you...?" She barked once,   
sounding appropriately annoyed, and he shook his head. "Well, allright then. I'll assume you're stuck?"  
She nodded again. "Well, I want you to think about yourself. Think about what makes you Fi--the HUMAN  
Fi. Keep thinking that, over and over. Picture yourself. Do it."  
  
She drowned out his talk and did as he asked. A somewhat foggy perception of herself came into her mind  
--Long wavy hair, blue-gray eyes, round face...She felt the familiar transformation, but it was somewhat  
more difficult than she remembered. She continued--Born in Dublin, raised in a small cottage out in the  
country, the sea, the fae...She didn't even stop herself from thinking of them. They were, after all, a  
part of her.  
  
She opened her eyes, raising her human hands to her face. The same somewhat rounded nose met her   
fingertips. She let out a sigh of relief at not finding whiskers. She looked up to thank Remus, but   
found that he was standing with his back to her, holding his cloak out behind him for her.   
  
"Wha--? OH!" She grabbed the cloak and hid behind the rocks, terribly embarrassed. HOW could she have   
forgotten? She hadn't even NOTICED her clothes falling off when she transformed, though. It had seemed  
so...natural to her, somehow. "I'm...Uhm...SORRY, Remus, I just..."  
  
"No, it's okay," he said to the tree in front of him. "When I come out of transformations, I have that  
problem. The only thing is..." he paused. "Can I turn around now? I can't carry on a conversation with  
a tree, you know."  
  
Fi wrapped the cloak tightly about herself, gripping the insides to keep it closed. "Okay."  
  
He turned around, still a bit red in the face, and wouldn't quite make eye contact. "The only thing is,  
Fi, that sort of thing only happens to you if you've got that power in your blood."  
  
"What d'you mean?"  
  
"Well," he said slowly, "I was bitten when I was small. The magic in that is in my blood; there's no   
cure. It's the same as if I had been born a werewolf, only not quite as strong, I think. If you're an  
Animagus, for example, you don't have the magic in your blood, persay...More like you've acquired the  
talent and magical maturity to transform. But it's not genetic. It doesn't get passed through   
bloodlines."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So," he said impatiently, as if she was missing a very obvious point (which she was), "I wasn't aware  
you had the ability to transform. I'd let it go with the business of speaking to fae, but now I'm not  
sure what to think."  
  
Fi shrugged. "Well, I just discovered this the other night, when I went out to capture the dog. I got   
chased into the lake, and I just..." she shrugged again. "It just happened. I wasn't sure quite what to  
think, really. I had a pixy bring me my clothes, and then I called Lily once I'd captured the monster,  
and that was it. No one knew. I had to see if I had been hallucinating or something, though. I didn't   
know."  
  
He thought for a moment. "Well, was anyone in your family...er...Non-human, in any way?"  
  
Fi sighed. "I dunno, really. My gran is about as far back as I know. She died when my Ma was a little   
girl, and started the bloodline of fae-speakers."  
  
"She died?"  
  
"That's what my grandda told Ma. I'm not sure if it's true, really."  
  
Remus paused to think again. After a few moments of silence, he looked up. "D'you suppose you could   
write to your mother and ask her about it? I've an idea, but I'm not sure if I'm right. I need more  
information to be positive."  
  
Fi shrugged. "I s'pose."  
  
"Well."  
  
"How did you know how to make me human again?" she muttered, hugging the cloak tighter about her.  
  
He sighed. "That's what all Animagis do. I wasn't sure it would work, but I figured there was a good  
chance."  
  
"Well, thank you."  
  
He nodded, looking embarrassed. "I guess we ought to get you back to your common room, so you can get...  
uhm...dressed." He turned red again and became very interested in a tree across the lake.  
  
Fi half-smiled at this. "Right. I'll leave you to your walk, then."  
  
"No," he muttered, still staring at the tree. "I can come with you, if you like. I know where the  
Slytherin commons are, thanks to Sirius.  
  
She shrugged yet again. She seemed to be doing that a lot, lately. "Okay by me."  
  
As they trudged towards the castle in silence, something occurred to her. "How did you understand me?"  
  
Now it was his turn to shrug. "Well, that's part of what puzzles me. You supposedly only talk to fae,   
and I'm not a pixy, I assure you. Maybe...Well, if my guess is correct, you can communicate with other  
magical creatures. Not just fae. Have you tried, other than with me?"  
  
She sighed. "I've so far given headaches to a centaurette and two mermen. I could understand mermish,  
though. And the centaurette now knows who you are, thanks to my thoughts." She ignored the sideways   
glance he gave her. "Please don't ask."  
  
He nodded. "Okay, I won't. But you've talked to other magical creatures, correct?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Hm..." He fell silent again, thinking.  
  
"Emm...Here's the commons."  
  
"Oh." He snapped out of his thoughts. "Right. I--em--don't need the cloak back immediately. Hang onto it  
for a bit, okay?"  
  
She nodded. "Right. Uh...Thanks for walking with me. Oh, and thanks for helping me, back there..."  
  
"Uhm...Sure." He stood nervously for a moment. "Well. I'll see you at dinner, then. Owl your Mother,   
would you? Then we can get to the bottom of this."  
  
She smiled. "Absolutely."  
  
***  
  
Clutching the letter firmly in her hand, Fi trudged up the staircase to the library, reading through it  
once more as she walked.  
  
Dear Fi,  
  
Ever so glad you're doing well in school. As a matter of fact, I just had a talk with Grandda about  
Gran. As it turns out, she didn't die. She left. That's all I could get out of him, I fear. As for my  
memory of her, all I can tell you is that a few days before she "died," I asked her why Grandda kept a  
sealskin in the attick. Your Uncle Killian and I had been playing in the attic the day before and found  
it. Why has all of this suddenly become so urgent?  
  
Love,  
  
Ma  
  
Fiona folded the letter upon entering the library. Madam Pince gave her a slight glare as she passed,   
but said nothing. Remus was, as usual, waiting in the back of the library at their usual table, which   
was stacked with several thick, musty-looking books.  
  
"What's all this, then?" Fi asked, sitting down opposite him.  
  
"Have a look." He pushed a few towards her and she read their titles: "Magic of Ireland", "Celtic  
Legends", and "A Collection of Magical Creatures".  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you think I am?"  
  
"Well," he said, "have you gotten your mother's response yet?"  
  
"Oh, yes," she said, pulling out the parchment and unfolding it.  
  
He read through the note quickly. "Hm...Thought so..."  
  
"What?"  
  
He looked up from reading. "Well, if your grandmother left, and didn't necessarily DIE, then there may  
be more to my theory than I thought. And the sealskin makes it a dead giveaway."  
  
"And...?" she prompted.  
  
"Look..." he flipped through "Celtic Legends" until he came across the right page and then handed it to  
her. She looked down at the page and noticed a large picture of a seal. Like all pictures in the   
wizarding world, it moved. This particular one showed the seal slowly transforming into a woman, and  
shedding its skin.  
  
"But I don't understand...I don't shed my skin, so why--?"  
  
"Just read."  
  
Obediently, she read the accompanying paragraphs:  
  
  
  
Selkes  
  
Perhaps one of the more interesting of magical creatures of Irish origin is the selke. Selkes are said  
to be the Irish version of mermaids, though there are several differences. Identical to the normal gray  
seals that are common inhabitants of the rocky shore, they come onto the beach and shed their skins to  
become women. After spending a day on land as a human, they take their skins and become seals once more.  
If a man should find and steal the skin, though, the selke is required by magical law to marry him. Some  
time later, however, if the selke should find her skin, she can return to the sea once more.   
  
If a selke has children with a human, the children are half-blooded and have the unusual ability of   
speaking to other magical creatures. The skill does take practice, though. As the generations of humans  
after the selke continue, the bloodline is passed only through females, leaving decendants abilities   
such as fae-speaking, mind-communication between magical creatures, and most rarely of all, the ability  
to become a seal.  
  
  
  
fiona pushed the book back at Remus, stunned. "You're saying...Gran was a selke?"  
  
He nodded. "It makes sense, doesn't it?"  
  
She didn't say anything, staring at the book. After a moment, she stood up and walked to a window. "What  
does it mean, though? I mean...I KNOW I'm a selke now, it makes sense. But...Now what?"  
  
"Well," he said softly, allowing a small smile. "I'd suggest you write your mother and tell her. I'm   
sure she'll be quite interested."  
  
Fi nodded again. After a moment: "And this doesn't...scare you or anything? I mean..."  
  
He gave her a curious stare. "What d'you mean by that?"  
  
She shrugged. "Well...It's just..." She glanced up at him. "I'm not human, Remus," she muttered.  
  
"Yes, you are. You're just part selke. You're primarily human." He paused, then added, "Like me."  
  
"But it's different--"  
  
"Look," he said, leaning against the wall next to her. "I'm not in the least afraid of you. Nor would I  
abandon you for what you are. You can't help it any more than I can help what I am." He looked bitter  
for a moment, but when he glanced back at her all traces of it were gone. "You didn't abandon me for  
what I am, so how could I turn around and do that to you?"  
  
She smiled appreciatively. "Thanks."  
  
Smiling, he put his hands in his pockets and stared out the window. After a moment, he cleared his   
throat rather nervously. "Emm...There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, right before Christmas. I   
couldn't go last time because of...You know...So, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me." He  
glanced up at her.   
  
"I'd be delighted," she said, grinning broadly.  
  
He smiled slightly. "Great. Uhm...What d'you want for Christmas, anyway?"  
  
Fi flushed. "Oh! You don't have to worry about that, I--"  
  
"Yes, I do."  
  
She shrugged. "I've not thought about it, really. Uhm..." She trailed off, shrugging again. "What about  
YOU?" He was about to protest, but she held up a hand. "If you're getting me something, I refuse to not  
get you a gift as well."  
  
He sighed. "Oh, all right. Surprise me."  
  
She smiled. "You do the same for me, then."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "You are quite difficult, you know."  
  
"Yep," she said proudly. "But so are you." She gathered up her books. "Well, thank you for helping me. I  
suppose I ought to go write Ma now, so she knows everything."  
  
"Right. D'you still need tutoring? We do have that quiz on the Unforgivable Curses coming up, you know."  
  
"Sure. Emm...After dinner tomorrow, then?"  
  
"Right."  
  
She left him gathering his books and headed for the Slytherin commons, exceptionally happy. She didn't   
have any nagging questions tumbling about in her brain anymore, AND she had a date to Hogsmeade, AND   
that date was Remus. Yes, Fi decided, setting her books down next to her trunk, life was good.  
  
***  
Part 10  
***  
  
"That one looks like a dog."  
  
"Sirius, with you, everything looks like a dog."  
  
"Shut up, Prongs."  
  
"No, I rather thought it looked like a dog, myself."  
  
"You always side with him, Annelle."  
  
"Yep."  
  
"What about you, Fi? What d'you think it looks like?"  
  
Fiona sighed. "Uhm...Honestly?...A dog."  
  
"Ha! Told you!"  
  
"Fine, you win."  
  
Fi giggled and sat up out of the snow. "D'you guys have any clue how stupid we look, lying in the snow  
like a bunch of idiots, discussing whether a cloud looks like a bunny or a dog?"  
  
"Newsflash, Fi," James muttered, squinting his eyes behind his glasses. "We ARE idiots...Hey, that one  
looks like a fish."  
  
"No, it looks like a bird." Apparently, Sirius was in a contradictory mood today.  
  
"It does not..."  
  
Lily laughed loudly. "Does too."  
  
James picked up a handful of snow and threw it at her. "Fine! You side with him too!"  
  
Lily stuck her tongue out, waited until James was busy cloud-gazing again, and promptly dropped a rather  
large amount of snow in his face.   
  
"Oi!" he sputtered. "Unfair!"  
  
He got up from the snow and chased her down the hill, towards a nearby field. Annelle sighed. "Wish   
they'd stop flirting with each other."  
  
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with flirting," Sirius said defensively.  
  
Everyone stifled a giggle as Lily sneaked up behind James and crammed a large handful of snow down his   
back, making him dance around rather stupidly, yelling. Lily then ran wildly across the field as James  
raced after her, balling up a massive amount of snow as he ran.  
  
Fi flumped down in the snow between Annelle and Remus, sighing. Though there was about a foot of snow on  
the ground, the sky was a perfect blue, and the ice-covered treetops sparkled in the dazzling sunlight.  
Life really was perfect. Somewhere, a little part of her mind was being its pessimistic self and telling  
her that this wouldn't last--something had to go wrong eventually. Life couldn't be perfect forever.  
  
The other part of her mind, however, was overriding the first, telling her to enjoy the fact that every  
part of her life at the time WAS perfect--everything. She had a boyfriend (she blushed even thinking  
about it, but it WAS true...), her friends accepted her, even for what she was, and everything seemed  
to have calmed down immensely since a month ago. And, hey, it was a beautiful day.  
  
She turned over on her side, causing her wool hat to fall off into the snow. "Say, Remus," she said,   
picking up the hat and dusting it off. "You've been awfully quiet."  
  
He shrugged, which looked odd since he had his arms up behind his head. He rolled over onto his stomach.  
"I've not got much to say. It's too perfect right now to say anything."  
  
Fi nodded, understanding. "Yep. I know the feeling." She giggled suddenly. "You've got snow all over   
your back, you know."  
  
He grinned and stood up, brushing his cloak off. "Well, I'm about soaked. Are we done lying in the snow  
like a bunch of dimwits?"  
  
"Well, I'm done lying in the snow, but I rather liked being a dimwit," Sirius said cheerily, standing up  
and dusting himself off as well. "Come, you two. Let's go for a butterbeer, shall we?"  
  
"If we can retrieve Romeo and Juliet from that snowdrift over there," Annelle muttered, getting up.   
"They've probably got more snow on them than the ground does."  
  
Fi wrinkled her nose. "Hopefully just from snowball fighting."  
  
Remus gave her a "yeah, right" look, and sent Sirius over to get them, offering her a hand up.  
  
***  
  
Fiona and Remus entered the castle with the other students returning from Hogsmeade, cheeks red from the  
rather biting wind, but grinning nonetheless. Fiona popped a chocolate frog into her mouth, stepping   
into the warmth gladly. Hogsmeade had been a thrill, but it WAS cold outside...  
  
"Well, that was fun," Remus said as they entered the Great Hall.   
  
"That's it?" Fi said in mock disappointment. "'Fun'?"  
  
He grinned and took a chocolate frog from her bag. "Okay, then, it was utterly, delightfully enjoyable.  
That good enough?"  
  
She sighed, smiling. "I suppose so."  
  
They stopped just inside the hall and Remus turned to her. "Right. I'll see you later, then?"  
  
"Right," Fi said. "Well..."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Mmkay. Well. I'm going to just go over to the Slytherin table then."  
  
"Right." He vaguely pointed over to the Gryffindor table. "Me, too. 'Bye."  
  
"'Bye." She watched him go, then, realizing that she was staring, hurried over to the Slytherin table.  
Lily was waiting, ignoring a rather angry-looking Narcissa. When Fi sat down, Lily immediately turned   
away from Narcissa and rolled her eyes. Fi grinned. "What's she on about this time?"  
  
"Well," Lily said, "apparently I'm shaming the house, dating a Gryffindor, and should be utterly   
humiliated that I should be so close to the chaser of our rival team and house, and it's dishonoring   
Salazar Slytherin, the old coot, and about a bazillion other things that I didn't catch."  
  
"Ah, I see." Fi shrugged. "Who cares, really? I mean--"  
  
She was interrupted as Dumbledore stood up from his seat at the staff table. "We are pleased to inform  
you that tomorrow afternoon on the return trip of the Hogwarts Express from King's Cross, we will be  
receiving a new student. She will be sorted, as is traditional, here at the school. Whatever house she  
is in, I hope that the other occupants will make her feel most welcome and help her learn her way around  
the school. Thank you." He sat back down again, and dinner proceeded.  
  
"'She'?" Lily muttered, pouring gravy on her potatoes. "Hmm...Wonder what house she'll be in?"  
  
"Probably Gryffindor," Fi mumbled. "Isnt' that where all the exciting people go? No offense, Lily."  
  
Lily pretended to look hurt, but then shrugged. "None taken." She sighed loudly. "You're probably right.   
She'll be a Gryffindor. Or a Ravenclaw, possibly. We don't NEED any more Hufflepuffs, though..."  
  
"Well," Fi said, "if she IS a Slytherin, she'll probably be something like this." She jerked her thumb   
over her shoulder at Bridgette Olman (A/N: currently dating one John Bullstrode...heh...), who was busy  
scaring some Hufflepuff first years by blocking their path and threatening to put them in a headlock.  
  
Lily looked around Fi at Bridgette and nodded. She sighed. "Those poor kids... Shall we, then?"  
  
Fi stood, sighing. "Right."  
  
They walked up behind Bridgette and Fi stood on tiptoe to tap her shoulder. She turned around, looking  
about as friendly as an angry troll, and the two Hufflepuffs--a boy and a girl--quickly scurried off   
towards their table. Lily, who had Bridgette's attention, gave a rather weak wave and sat back down  
again. Fi laughed nervously. "Uhm...Hi..."  
  
Bridgette rolled her eyes, muttering something about "Air-headed Mudbloods," and turned around. Upon  
discovering that the two first years had disappeared, she spun back to face Lily and Fi, furious, but  
by then they'd sprinted down to the Slytherin commons, giggling.  
  
"You know," Lily muttered as Fi stated the password to the wall ("Serpensortia"), "We never do tell her  
off, do we?"  
  
"Nope," Fi said, stepping inside the common room. Every time they saw Bridgette, she was torturing   
someone smaller than she. And that qualified a lot of people for torturing. Every time they saw her,   
they got up the courage to distract her while her victims escaped, but never quite managed to muster up   
the bravery to tell her off for being such a bully. Fi had decided this was part of her ultimate goal   
for her remaining time at Hogwarts.  
  
"Well," Lily said, throwing herself into one of the high-backed chairs, "Annelle leaves tomorrow for the  
holidays, we get a new student as well, and Bridgette is after our blood. Quite a time ahead, no?"  
  
Fi sighed. "Hey, I'm not complaining."  
  
Lily smirked. "Yes, well. So you got a hundred percent on that Defense test last week?"  
  
"Yep," Fi said, smiling broadly.  
  
"Cool. D'you suppose you could help me study for the next one? I'd ask to come to the library, but I do  
believe I'd be intruding."  
  
Fi threw a pillow at Lily, who giggled loudly and threw it back, hitting Fi in the back of the head.   
How life could be so perfect, neither one knew. But, of course, good things never last. And neither girl  
knew the magnitude of the change that was soon to befall them. 


	6. Part 11

A/N: Woo-hoo! The stories go together now! Rhiannon has posted her stuff, and it's good, so you can go  
read that. She e-mailed it to me, and it blew me away. Now I feel REALLY juvenile, writing this way...  
She's really good. I did have to tell her off for not knowing the barkeeper's name in the Leaky   
Cauldron, but that's okay. (We forgive you, Rhiannon...^_^)  
  
Right. So. Christmas. This is a short part, because I can only go so far with this for fear of messing   
it up. The parts are going to be alternating, so you'll need to read her stuff. Fi and Lily and co. only   
came into her part in her most recent posting. Go read it. If you haven't, you should read it before  
this, but I'll catch you up anyway: A new girl came, Sapphira Silverflame, and she's in Slytherin. She's  
blonde and American. Sirius, though he certainly seemed fond of Annelle, seems quite smitten with her.  
As far as we know. He IS quite a flirt, after all.  
  
Boy, this is a LONG author's note. I'll shut up now.  
  
Fa A Bhialainn Ann  
part 11 (ugh...how did it ever continue this long?)  
by Veralidaine  
  
Bend, little willow  
Wind's gonna blow you  
Hard and cold tonight.  
Life, as it happens  
Nobody warns you.  
Willow, hold on tight.  
  
Nothing's gonna shake your love,  
Take your love away.  
No one's out to break your heart,  
It only seems that way.  
  
Bend, little willow  
Wind's gonna blow you  
Hard and cold tonight.  
Life, as it happens  
Nobody warns you.  
Willow, hold on tight.  
  
~ from "Little Willow," by Paul McCartney (yay!) Lovely song; look it up on Napster. Next I plan on a   
Joni Mitchell song...Don't ask; I've been listening to "Little Green" all afternoon...   
  
  
  
"Let's see..." Fi rummaged around in her trunk, finally coming up with--parchment. She sighed. It was  
hardly wrapping paper...  
  
"Why don't you just BUY some from Hogsmeade?" Lily asked, conjuring a bow neatly with her wand. It tied  
itself around a small box wrapped in silver cloth. "I mean, they've got really pretty stuff. That's   
where I got this. They magic it to make it exactly the right size to wrap it, and they can personalize  
it...It's really nice." She shook the box lightly, and no sound issued. "Ha! I put a silencing charm on  
it so he can't shake it to find out what it is..." She smiled triumphantly.  
  
"As if it would be EASY to figure out that it's a remembrall."  
  
Lily grinned wickedly. "He's always forgetting what time our dates are, or when our anniversaries are,  
so I decided to take a shot at him for it. And get him a really cool gift while I was at it." She sighed  
loudly. "I love the wizarding world, Fi. Why can't you just do things with magic?"  
  
"I come from a family where Christmas is important for doing the gift yourself. That's why I spent so  
long working on engraving it," --she held up the silver pocketwatch bearing the carefully carved   
initials "RJL"-- "and that's why I'm spending so long wrapping it. It's no fun to go buy the paper   
perfectly fitted. I mean, why not make your own?"  
  
"Because the rest of us aren't daft, like you," Lily said jokingly. "Seriously, though. It's because we  
happen to believe that you can use magic to wrap a gift."  
  
"Well, yes, but..."   
  
"Why don't you paint the parchment, then?" Lily suggested. "You're a painter; use your skill. Go on, do  
a Christmas scene or something. Should be cool."  
  
Fi giggled. "You know, it could work..." She grabbed her paint set from under her bed and set up her  
easel by the window, looking outside at the quickly falling snow. Everything was covered in white, and   
the bare trees were stock-still in the windless evening. Huge snowflakes fell silently to the ground,  
adding the last bit of perfection to the scene. As the first stars started to appear, Fi began to paint.  
Lily stuck around to watch, and to "ooh" and "aah" at her work annoyingly. Before too long, Sapphira  
wandered in from who-knew-where and joined the fun, prompting Fi to turn around and purposely spatter   
them with paint, causing all three girls to erupt into giggles.  
  
***  
  
Everything was lovely. There was simply no other word for it. The Great Hall had been decorated   
beautifully, with twelve huge Christmas trees and a roaring fire in the large fireplace. Tinsel and   
mistletoe hung above from the enchanted ceiling, which was snowing its magically warm and dry snow.   
To top it all off, and much to Fi's delight, small, multi-colored pixies fluttered around the walls,   
adding their light and glitter to the scene.   
  
Sapphira, who had never experienced a Hogwarts Christmas, was just as awed as Fi. The two of them   
wandered down decorated hallways with Lily, pointing and whispering at the mysterious lights glowing  
inside the armor as Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.   
  
"Guys," she'd said one afternoon during a furious giggling fit over Peeves' rather vulgar rendition of   
'Silent Night,' "this is just the way we decorate around here, you know. It's not THAT amazing...We   
experienced students are beginning to think you've never celebrated Christmas before."  
  
"Well, at home," Sapphira said, raising an eyebrow, "we didn't have singing poltergeists." She paused,  
frowning in mock-concentration. "Come to think of it, Lily, we didn't have poltergeists, period."  
  
"Yes, quite," Fi had added. "We get lots of ghosts, and the occasional banshee, but no poltergeists."  
  
Considering the fact that Sapphira had only been at Hogwarts for three days, the trio of girls became  
quite close. In between causing mayhem with Sirius, James, and Remus (Peter usually just tagged along,  
avoiding trouble with the teachers), Fi would paint with Sapphira, who had turned out to be quite an  
artist herself, while Lily fawned over their work. Fi supposed that once Annelle got back from the  
holidays they'd have to introduce her to Sapphira--it certainly seemed to Fi that they would get along  
perfectly.  
  
Overall, Fi was preparing for possibly the best Christmas she'd ever had. Which was why it came as such   
a shock in the Great Hall the next morning when the post owls arrived. It was Christmas Eve.  
  
Among the usual flutter of wings, Fi had just seated herself with Lily and their new friend at the   
Slytherin table for breakfast, when Professor Tripwort, who was their current Defense teacher, stood   
from her seat at the staff table. Professor Dumbledore had been mysteriously absent before Sapphira had   
arrived, and had taken the next few days off, apparently suffering from exhaustion. Though their   
professors wouldn't disclose precisely WHAT had exhausted him, Remus suggested to the group that it must  
have been a spell. At this, Sapphira's face had lit up and she said he had performed a rather complex   
one while with her. However, despite the pleas of her friends for specifics, she wouldn't tell them   
exactly what spell it was.  
  
The responsibility of headmaster had been divided between Professors Tripwort and McGonagall. As soon as   
Tripwort stood, everyone in the hall fell silent, waiting to hear her announcement, whatever it was. She   
was clutching a letter in her hand, which was shaking violently.  
  
"I...M-Minerva, could you...?"  
  
Professor McGonagall took the letter from the trembling hand of her colleague and straightened her   
square spectacles. Everyone watched as her beady eyes moved back and forth as she read the letter, then  
all of a sudden she brought a hand to her mouth and stood very, very still, face paling.  
  
"I wonder what--" Lily murmured, but was interrupted.  
  
"I am sorry to announce to you all that recently, the dark wizard we refer to as You-Know-Who has begun  
to rise in power. This past weekend, he killed an entire Wizarding family--including one of our students  
in the house of Gryffindor."  
  
Fi's eyes became very round and her jaw dropped. Surely, SURELY she didn't mean--  
  
"I am...utterly devastated to..." Her throat caught, but she cleared it quietly and continued. "I am   
sorry to announce that Annelle Jensen will not be returning at the end of the holidays."  
  
  
Fi's mind went blank. Everything in the room seemed to be moving very quickly--too quickly for her to   
keep up with. Something in her mind seemed to have broken. McGonagall was lying. Yes, that had to be it.   
This was all a cruel joke. Annelle wasn't dead, and there was no evil wizard taking over the world.   
Annelle would come back from the holidays, and they'd laugh and joke in Defense class, just like they   
always had.  
  
Vaguely, and with the same sort of grogginess you have during a confusing dream, Fi glanced at Lily. The  
redhead had frozen in her position of shock. Her face showed a horror uncomparable to anything Fi had  
ever seen. But then, that was NOTHING next to Sirius.  
  
Everyone in the Great Hall turned abruptly as a chair fell to the floor. Sirius stood next to it,   
looking possibly more pained and sad than Fi could have ever imagined such a cheerful, jovial person  
could look. He gave a sort of strangled yelp and ran from the room, while everyone merely stared, too  
shocked to say anything.  
  
Just down the table, Malfoy, who had been one of the few Slytherins to stay over the holidays, gave a  
loud snort. "Well good," he muttered. "They were Muggle-lovers anyway."  
  
Something inside Fi snapped. She wasn't really aware of every consciously deciding to climb up on top of  
the table, march down the center, and clobber Lucius with all the strength she could muster. No, she   
only really came to realize what had happened when a pair of strong arms pulled her off of him. She   
turned around to face Remus, who was looking as devastated as she felt.   
  
Suddenly, all feeling came back to her; the numbness was gone and replaced immediately by grief she'd   
never felt before...Having never lost anyone close to her before, this was a whole new experience, and   
one she'd rather not have ever had at all. At a loss for how to cope with it, she just leaned forward   
into Remus's shoulder and cried harder than she'd ever cried before, remembering Annelle, and how her  
freckled face used to break into a grin whenever she told a joke. How she'd always had a way to solve  
ANY problem. How she'd always been there to comfort, cheer up, and make Fi and Lily laugh. And how she'd  
never be there to do it again, all because of a horrid, horrid excuse for a wizard.  
  
She was crying so hard that she didn't even notice Remus's constant orders to leave her be, no matter  
what she'd done to Lucius. He just held her close and let her cry. The grief was overwhelming. It was   
like a tight, painful, sickly feeling in her lungs, trying to suffocate her; not allowing her to   
breathe. She thought she might be sick.  
  
She stood that way, with Remus, for a long time. After awhile, she heard McGonagall ask Remus to walk   
her back to the Slytherin commons. She heard him ask for a few moments to let her calm down a bit. So,   
McGonagall must have consented, for she didn't move anywhere. After a moment, she was helped over to a   
chair, though, and Remus took the chair next to hers.  
  
Remus lifted her chin and made her meet his eyes. "Fi, are you--"  
  
He was interrupted as her eyes overflowed again. She bent over her lap, sobbing quietly. Why did it have  
to be Annelle? What had she ever done to anyone? She wouldn't wish that fate upon anyone--not even   
Lucius, whom she hated desperately.  
  
Right now, all she wanted was to be held; assured that everything was okay, and that Annelle was okay.  
Assured that everything would be alright again. Why couldn't it? Part of Fi's brain was still stunned   
and not functioning properly. She allowed herself to collapse into Remus's arms again as she sobbed,  
terrified and angry and more devastated than she'd ever thought was possible. Finally, she regained her  
voice and sobbed, "How...How is it possible?"  
  
He brushed her tear-soaked and matted curls from her face and wiped her eyes with his thumbs. "Fi,   
please..."  
  
"But it isn't fair!" she yelled, burying her face in his shoulder again. "She didn't do anything! Why?   
Why, why, why..."   
  
"Because," Remus murmured in an oddly choked voice, "Voldemort is an indescribably evil...being, and he  
kills innocent people. I only hope we can stop him from gaining too much power. If we don't act quickly,  
well..."  
  
She brought her arms up around his neck in response, and his wound around her waist, as she cried even  
harder. Finally, she brought her tear-streaked face up from his shoulder, which was soaked, and met his  
eyes--a task she'd been dreading but knew was inevitable. "Remus...She's...But..." Her voice lowered to  
a whisper. "Annelle..." She clenched her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears.   
  
"You need to get some rest..."  
  
She nodded mutely, and stood to follow him to the door. He walked her down to the Slytherin commons,   
where she murmured the password in an expressionless voice.  
  
Remus sighed. "Get some sleep, Fi. Sleep it off, the best you can. I'll see you tomorrow morning."  
  
She nodded mutely and slowly walked into her common room, not wanting to talk anymore for fear of   
collapsing in tears again. And that would worry him.  
  
Instead, she found her room. Narcissa wasn't there, and niether was Lily--Fi supposed she was with James  
somewhere. Sapphira--Fi seemingly just remembered--must have sensed that this wasn't something she was  
knowledgeable about and was giving the others some space.  
  
Fi slumped down on her bed and cried long and hard, until she fell asleep. When she woke up, about   
mid-afternoon, she just lie in bed, unmoving, for a long time, staring at the curtains surrounding her  
four-poster. It was odd to feel this way...She'd never lost ANYONE close to her--she'd never known her  
grandparents as they'd died in the war against Gridelwald, and she'd never had any real friends before.  
That was it, she decided. The fact that Annelle had been one of the first (and only) people to treat her  
with complete, un-prejudiced kindness and compassion when they first met. It made Fi wonder how long  
someone like that could make it in a world like hers...  
  
Horrible, guilty thoughts chased themselves around in Fi's brain all afternoon. Why hadn't she ever told  
Annelle that she was one of her best friends? Annelle hadn't given it a second thought that she was a  
Muggle-born, and that she was Irish. Or even that she was a Slytherin. She was always there to help with  
Charms homework, or Transfiguration, and was always there to point out forgotten logic. She'd helped to  
save Remus, too. And whenever Fi had been made fun of by someone in her potions class for her mistakes,  
Annelle was always there to murmur rather rude things about them just so she could hear, and make her  
laugh out loud.  
  
Fi hated that she hadn't spent more time with her. Even though she saw her every day, between classes   
and walks around the grounds as a group, Annelle was always a tad distant from Fi, due to their houses.  
And Fi hated herself for that. She found herself hating the prejudice between houses, and hating the   
intense rivalries. Especially between Gryffindor and Slytherin. It was so unreasonable...But, she hated  
Voldemort more than she'd ever thought was possible. He'd killed a completely innocent girl, who had  
done NOTHING. It was wrong, and horrible, and Fi had this aching inside her to get that creature who  
called himself a wizard and make him regret ever being born.  
  
***  
  
Christmas wasn't at all cheerful. No one had ever experienced a death like this, and every house was   
astonished that someone like Annelle, who was quite popular and bright, could be taken away so easily.  
And the thought that there was someone so evil out there as to do such a thing frightened everyone, and  
made Christmas all the more dreary, which it is absolutely not supposed to be.  
  
At the feast, one long table had been set up for the remaining students. Glad, at least, to sit next to  
Remus for once, Fi silently ate her dinner. She hadn't spoken since the previous morning, to anyone.   
Lily had been much the same. As for Sirius, he had locked himself in his dormitory and wouldn't come   
out, even for Christmas dinner. It appeared to Fi that he was even more grief-stricken than she.   
  
Sapphira was acting quite awkward, and Fi felt sorry that her fourth day at Hogwarts had been so awful.  
The new girl had also seemed quite perturbed at Sirius' grief, as she didn't know of Annelle. Somehow,  
Fiona knew that Sirius and Annelle hadn't ever had a true relationship with real meaning, but they had  
still been quite fond of each other and flirtatious. And the fact that all of a sudden she died had been  
quite a shock to Sirius, who had, to a certain extent, taken her presence for granted.  
  
At that moment, Sapphira passed her the gravy and she was brought back to the incredibly silent holiday  
dinner. Even the few Slytherin boys who had stayed over the holidays were sensible enough to refrain   
from nasty comments--perhaps it was the fact that Lucius still had a black eye and several bruises.  
  
"Well." Fi turned to Remus and cleared her throat--her voice seemed unready to work. "Here's...uhm..."   
She handed him the watch, wrapped in her painting of that snowy evening, before everything went so   
wrong.  
  
He gave her a sad yet appreciative smile and pulled from his pocket a little box wrapped in iridescent   
paper. She smiled lightly and he shrugged. "I'm not that great at charming parchment to look nice. Give  
me a break, here."  
  
"I've not got a problem with it; it's lovely," she muttered, taking it gently in her hands.  
  
They both began unwrapping their gifts. Fi carefully pulled the enchanted parchment off and found a   
small velvet box. Upon opening it, a tiny, silver celtic charm fell out, it's chain following it and   
flowing into her hand like liquid. She slid the chain over her head, pulling her hair out of the way.  
Holding the charm between her thumb and forefinger, she looked up at Remus, who had unwrapped the watch  
and was looking quite cheerful, given the situation. She smiled. "Thank you."  
  
"Well, I saw it in Hogsmeade and thought it was nice, and...You know." He shrugged. "The watch is great.  
I've always wanted one, but it's been sort of...difficult to get one." He shrugged again. Fi knew he   
meant he couldn't afford it. He smiled at her when he saw the carved initials. "Thank you."  
  
"Of course." Fi wanted to ask how Sirius was doing, but whenever the subject was brought up, Remus' face  
clouded over and he got sad again. And Fi didn't want to ruin the moment--however feebly cheerful it   
was.  
  
Though the thank yous had been short and not nearly as thorough as either would have liked, for some   
reason it was adequate. Both knew how the other felt, and that was enough for them.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Right, guys. I know it was waaaay overly dramatic. I know. The thing is, though, Fi's never, ever  
had anyone close to her die, and it was a new thing. And even though she was closer to Lily, really, she  
still felt horrible about it and it still caused a great deal of grief. So cut me some slack here, okay?  
  
Right. Well. There you go, Rhiannon. Your turn. ^_^ I am ever so anxious to see just how Sapphira felt  
about all this...  
  
Still working on the Christmas fic, BTW. Should have it done soon. I don't think it's any good, but then  
I never do think ANY of my writing's good, do I?  
  
~Veralidaine  



	7. Part 12 (whew, it's been awhile, hasn't ...

Disclaimer: I own naught but Fi. Ebony Foxfire owns Sapphira, J.K. Rowling the Brilliant owns everybody else (even though I wish I owned Remus at least...Eh-heh...)

A/N: Zounds, how long has it been, then? I don't think I've posted a bit of this since, like, NOVEMBER. That's kind of sad. No, that's really sad. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, I'm posting this now, so you can't kill me. The only reason I've gotten a chance to write this is due to my bronchitis, which has been a source of unpleasantness for me for the past few days (since about…Valentine's Day, actually). Anyway, sorry for not posting in ages, I'll try not to do that to you lot anymore, since you actually seem to enjoy reading this. 

A quick note: I know Lily's a Gryffindor, and I know her last name is Evans. I started writing this ages ago (about a week before GOF came out, actually…), so it's not all agreeable with what JKR has said recently. So, I'd like you all to suspend your disbelief for the remaining chapters, okay? I'd really appreciate it.

Also, one more thing: I had to do Irish dialogue in this. I tried to do the accent properly (and I can do it when I'm talking, if I try hard enough) but it was hard to do and keep legible at the same time. So use your imaginations, okay? A few quick terms: _whisht _is Irish for "shut up" or "hush," depending on tone of voice. _Allanah _is a term of endearment, like "little darling." I meant to include this in the first chapter, but never got 'round to it, and recently went back to look at it (and groan at my typos and lack of sentence variety) and discovered that you were all probably staring at the computer screen and thinking, _Ooookay…_

Anyway, I'm working on it. I don't claim to be Roddy Doyle or Frank McCourt, okay? 

~ Veralidaine

AUTHOR WARNING: This is so cheesy you could probably spread it on a cracker. No, seriously, this is Cheeze Wiz. This chapter comes out of an aerosol can. The plot kicks in next chapter. I think. 

### Fa A Bhialainn Ann

Part (uhh...Oh, yeah--) 12

by Veralidaine, princess of really long, rambling, pointless stories and author's notes

__

Lovers in the long grass

Look above them

Only they can see

Where the clouds are going

Only to discover

Dust and sunlight

Ever make the sky so blue

"Flora's Secret" by Enya, from the album _A Day Without Rain_

*

__

Fiona —

Write me when you get this letter.

— Remus

*

__

Remus —

Me.

—Fiona 

*

__

Fi —

Oh, haha. You are a witty one. How was the trip home?

—Remus 

*

__

Remus —

I know. At least I amuse myself, right? The trip wasn't bad—

I convinced Ma and Da to take a portkey to Dublin, so it was, 

for the most part, uneventful. There was a slight issue with

Floo powder once we got back in Ireland, though…

It wasn't fun showing up in some stranger's fireplace, but

I survived. I think I like cars better. 

—Fi 

*

__

Fi —

You amuse me, too. Occasionally. Okay, most of the time.

Are you planning on coming to Diagon Alley to get school supplies?

Or, better yet, are you going to come visit us sometime over the summer

holidays? 

—Remus 

PS — 

Please?

*__

Remus —

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…Goodness, I've only been home a week!

You teenaged boys are so self-centered! And Remus, you're just the

worst, with your record of delinquency and that awful, loud ,

obnoxious manner you have. Honestly, why do I tolerate you?

I can get school supplies in Wizarding Dublin, but we'll see…

I must go write Lily now. She said Sapphira might come visit her

over the holidays. Whether I come visit or not, we'll all see each 

other on September 1st. So quit wringing your hands.

Beannacht!

— Fi 

***

Her feet slid over the wet rocks as she made her way down towards the water. A breeze picked up from the ocean, lifting the long brown waves of hair off her back and sending it streaming out behind her, coppery-red in the early morning light. The ocean was unusually calm this morning, and its stillness was only rippled by the occasional strong gust of wind. Usually Fiona didn't wake this early, but she only had about a week left in Ireland for the summer holidays before leaving for Hogwarts again, and for seventh year.

Fiona grinned suddenly, thinking of her letters. There'd probably be another one waiting for her when she got back to the house—most likely in Remus' neat, tiny writing. She'd been owling her friends since she'd arrived in Ireland. Upon entering her room, Snitch was already waiting on her bedpost with a note tied to his leg with that first note from Remus. Fiona, being the rather clueless person she could be at times, wondered vaguely why he had cared to write her so often over the past summer.

She sighed and turned her face towards the heavens. She could tell from the way the breeze was gradually gaining strength, and from the way the clouds blotted out the morning sun, casting the rocky beach in steely grayness, that a storm was on its way—most likely a big one. It had been a warm summer, and now that autumn was coming, storms seemed to be brewing constantly. Everything seemed…cooler…than it had before. Maybe it was that global warming thing the Muggles had recently started talking about that was supposedly mucking up the weather. Or maybe it was Voldemort. Somehow, she liked the idea of the Earth's poles melting and flooding the entire planet better.

Well, it wasn't raining yet, at any rate, so she wasn't about to run for the house. Fiona sat down on a rather large rock, looking out at the one solitary seagull that was soaring over the cliffs on either side of her. She pulled her pennywhistle out of her sundress pocket and, sitting cross-legged, started piping out whatever songs she could think of, just to occupy herself for awhile. Mostly, they were quick-paced little tunes she wasn't aware of ever really learning, yet she knew them. She supposed it was back from when she'd been seven or eight and hadn't had a reason to fear her abilities. _They _had probably taught her those songs, but she wasn't about to admit it. She did love the pennywhistle, though. Her little brother, Liam, had carved it for her while she'd been away at school, and the little flute was one of her more prized possessions.

Still piping away to her hearts content, Fiona could see the rain, a few miles off on the water, causing a smoky mist to rise off the water. She thought vaguely that she might want to head back to the house before it got closer and soaked her, but she was enjoying the solitude this little alcove provided. It was rather nice, what with the pleasantly rainy-smelling breeze and the heavy fog beginning to spread over the water and the rocks. It was chilly, but it was also beautiful to look at.

After a moment, she stopped playing and dangled her feet off of her rock and into the water, which was rather surprisingly chilly, even for the morning. Well, so much for swimming. She felt a large drop of water on the top of her head and, looking up, noticed that those steely clouds had finally moved overhead. The rain began to pick up, and soon she was soaking wet and that thick fog had spread all around her, creeping gently over the rocks. She stood up and carefully made her way back over the coarse sand and towards the hillside.

Climbing up onto the grassy slope that was the beginning of her family's property, she hesitated a moment. Oh, she was already wet; why should she run to the house? She'd not simply been out playing in the rain in ages…Not since she was a little girl. Giggling a bit to herself, she spun around a few times in the pouring rain, letting it soak through her thick hair and scatter in droplets from the tangled ends as she twirled around. Though she was perfectly content, it gave her a sort of sadness, knowing that she'd be leaving this in another week. For England. And Hogwarts. 

Sighing, she stopped her twirling, turning her face towards the sky, and let the rain fall on her face, smiling softly to herself. She'd manage, somehow. She always did. A breeze picked up from the sea and over the hillside, flapping the now sopping sundress against her legs. This was quite a storm, it was.

She started jogging towards her house but stopped, confused. There was another car there—it looked like a cab, really—parked outside the house on the little dirt road. Somebody with long, coppery hair jogged out from the house, leaned through one of the windows for a moment, and then turned and jogged back, obviously trying not to get soaked in the gale that quiet storm had now worked itself into. Now Fi was thoroughly confused. She hadn't known they were having company…At least, not today. Shrugging, and wondering vaguely if her Ma would be mad at her for coming into the house, where they had guests, looking slightly (okay, very) bedraggled. 

"Fiona!" That was Moreen McLellan's loud Irish brogue calling from the house. "Fiona, where are yeh?"

"Coming, Ma!" Fi jogged the rest of the way to the house, to the brightly-lit rectangle that was the back door where her mother was waiting, looking slightly disgruntled.

"Honestly, Fiona darlin', you look like somethin' the cat dragged in!" Her mother stalked into the kitchen, returning with a dishtowel, which she promptly tossed to Fiona with the unstated instructions to clean herself up. Indeed, what her Ma had said couldn't be too far off the mark—even the cat was looking at her with distaste. 

"Ma? 'Ave we got company?"

"Aye," her mother said, glancing at her with dark eyes and a carefully masked amusement. "Just arrived on the eight o'clock portkey to Dublin."

"Who's it, then, Ma?"

Her mother smiled and crossed her arms. "Soon's you've smarted yerself up abit, you can come see. Yer goin' to want t' look nice."

Fi sighed exasperatedly and started scrubbing rather viciously at her hair with the towel, trying to dry it out to the point where it was at least presentable. She only succeeded in making it immensely bushy and tangled, though, so she gave up the effort and followed her Ma into the kitchen. "So'm I presentable yet?"

Her mother looked her over, obviously knowing that no matter what she said it would make no difference, and nodded. Curious, Fi tramped her still-soaked bare feet into the living room and stopped, slightly shocked.

Sitting on the sofa were Sapphira, Lily, and James, and next to them was Sirius, who was attempting to steal the reclining chair a very annoyed-looking Remus was currently occupying. James was the first to notice her, as everyone else was either occupied with battling over seats or chatting excitedly (as was the case for Sapphira and Lily). "Fi! Hullo!"

Fiona waved vaguely back at him as everyone turned to look at her. Remus stood up, and Sirius even forgot to take the seat, which had now been abandoned. Lily and Sapphira were standing as well, and were grinning at her. "Hello, Fi."

Fi finally found her voice. "Hi!" she managed, still confused. "I didn' know you were going to come visit!"

Lily grabbed her in a hug. "Surprise, then! Sapphira's been staying at my house for the past few weeks since her Mum had a business trip into London. My Mum and Dad said I could take Sapphira to come visit you for a few days, and then we can take a portkey to London and do our school shopping before catching the Express. Sound good to you?"

"Well, of course! Only…" Fiona glanced at Remus, Sirius, and James, raising an eyebrow. 

"Ah, yes, them," Sapphira said, in a somewhat more British-tinged accent than Fi remembered. "Well, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were together for the summer holidays since they live in the same town—Godric's Hollow, you know. Their parents were going to send them off to the country or something for the rest of the holidays until school started so they'd be safe from Voldemort. But then my Mum talked to Mrs. Potter and mentioned that we were going to Ireland for the rest of the holidays, and it was arranged that they'd come with us. So we're all staying at the inn in the village. We just got there, but we simply couldn't wait to come see you."

"So here we are," Sirius finished. 

"Where's Peter?" Fi asked, just remembering that he wasn't there.

James sighed. "He stayed at the inn. Didn't feel like coming. He's…not fond of storms. Speaking of…" He grinned at her, taking in the sopping, tangled mess that was her hair. "You been swimming without us, Fi?"

Fiona shot him a sarcastic glare. "Aye, yer point?"

Lily giggled. "You've got your accent back again, Fi."

"Do I?" Fi asked, honestly unaware of her accent every changing in the first place.

"Yeah, you were starting to sound a bit like Moony there, for awhile." Sirius said, flopping down on the sofa. "And really, we only need one."

Fiona grinned and turned, finally, to get a good look at Remus. And immediately became self-conscious and extremely aware of the bedraggled mess she must look.

He had obviously grown a good few inches over the few months since she'd last seen him, and though he still looked as if he could use a good meal, he was smiling at her in that quiet, Remus way that made Fi go weak in the knees. "Hullo."

"Hi," Fi said, nervously twirling a matted lock of hair around one finger. "So, uhm…How've you been?" 

"What, you mean since you last exchanged letters, what, twelve hours ago?" Sapphira muttered, earning herself a glare from Fi and a stifled chuckle from Sirius.

"Fine," Remus said, smiling and shooting Sirius a look. 

There was a slight pause, in which there was much staring on Remus and Fiona's part, much giggling on Sirius and Sapphira's part, and much "oh, they're so immature"-ing on Lily's part, as James watched the whole situation, amused.

"Well," Moreen said, entering with a tray of hot tea and brack, abruptly ending the moment, "It's near nine o'clock. What're yeh planning t'do for the rest o' the day?" She set the tea tray down on the nearest coffee table and grinned at Fi's current hairdo. "Fiona darlin', are yeh planning on combin' out that mess 'fore going anywhere this afternoon? Might be a good plan, if yeh ask me."

Fi nodded, wanting an excuse to make herself presentable in Remus' presence, and practically galloped up the stairs to her room. Throwing herself onto the wooden stool next to her dresser, she picked up a comb and began to tear it through her hair, wincing occasionally when she came across a particularly nasty snarl. Once she'd managed to comb her hair out to close to its usual self, she inspected herself in the mirror, noting with annoyance that the ever-inconvenient spitcurls were showing up, thanks to the humidity.

There was a soft knock on the door and her Ma entered, carrying a basketful of laundry and dumping it on her bed. "Yeh're excused from chores this week, but only since yeh've got guests." She grinned and twirled one of Fi's curls around her slender finger. "I always did love the way yer hair did this when it got wet…"

"_Ma…_" Fi said, somewhat embarrassed. "It's _hair…_"

Her Ma ruffled her hair, causing her to dive for her comb again. Moreen laughed. "Well, aren't we concerned with our looks t'day, _allanah_?"

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Fi asked, setting down the comb and sighing, looking at her mother through the mirror's reflection.

"Is that boy in there the one yeh've been writin' to all summer? That…Remus, was 't?"

"Yes…" Fi answered carefully.

"'E seems a nice lad, dun' 'e?" she replied, folding a pair of Fi's old jeans and a black shirt and setting it next to her on the dresser. 

Fi stared. "Ma…"

"'E's a handsome sort, in' 'e?"

"_MA!_"

Her mother chuckled, obviously amused at the reaction she'd gotten. "What? Yeh dun think so?"

"That's not the topic under discussion," Fi said indignantly, earning a smug grin from her Ma.

"Right. Well, I've got lots o' chores t'do for the day as yer not going t'be 'ere. Go t' the village for t'day, do some shopping or whatnot. Take them to see the ocean. Dun keep'm cooped in the 'ouse all the day, though."

"I know, I know…" Fi slid off the stool and grabbed her clothes. Shooing Moreen out of the room, she pulled on her jeans and shirt, and an old pair of muddy boots and, glancing one last time in the mirror, fled down the stairs to where her friends were waiting.

*

"It really is green here," Lily said as they walked along the now rather muddy path to the village. It had finally stopped raining after a rather quiet hour of chatting in the living room and drinking tea. "I mean, I know it's called the Emerald Isle, but I never really thought…"

"Oh, how cliché," Sapphira interrupted, facing their right. "A rainbow."

Five heads turned, and indeed, there was a rainbow. A bright one, too, just over the next green hill. James grinned. "Hey, d'you suppose there's a leprechaun?"

"That's all a load of horse manure," Fi said delicately, stumbling over a stray rock in the path. "Leipreacháns dun even keep gold, really. They just say they do to trick you into letting them go."

"Oh? Did one tell you?" Sirius asked, not mocking her as he knew that, in this case, it was completely possible.

"Actually, yes," Fi said, turning and starting down the path again.

"Well," Sirius said exasperatedly, "there goes number three on my list of things to do here."

Giggling, Fiona fell back to walk with Sapphira and Lily, letting the boys have the lead, as they were talking about Quidditch, and she was uninterested. "So, how was it, staying together at the Andrews'?"

Lily sighed. "Ah, it was alright, I guess. Petunia was annoying, though…"

"Yer sister?"

"Yeah, her. She's sixteen now, and she's got this major inferiority complex. She keeps calling me 'abnormal.' It's really obnoxious." Lily shrugged. "I don't care, though. I can always turn her into a fruit bat or something should I feel inclined to do so."

Sapphira nodded, pulling her hair back with a silver elastic. "To tell you the truth, we couldn't help ourselves. We…sorta left her a bit of a gift."

"Oh?" Fi asked, grinning. "What?"

Lily and Sapphira both giggled, but managed to quiet themselves when Sirius looked behind him to see what was funny. He turned back around after a moment, launching into a discussion of the latest Quidditch World Cup with James, while Remus nodded fervently about something they were saying.

"Well," Lily said quietly, eyes ahead, "we found the most amazing thing in Diagon Alley…"

"It's this really realistic perfume bottle…"

"Yeah, and it's full of this potion that makes you break spontaneously into the most ridiculous of songs…"

"And she was planning to go on a date with this guy she claims to be in love with that night," Sapphira said, grinning broadly. "How's that for abnormal?"

"Yeah, really…" Lily laughed. "But, you know, I don't care what she thinks. I've seen this guy she's going out with, and he's really unpleasant. He's really big and tall, and has a huge neck—we're talking probably a foot in diameter. He thinks I'm abnormal, too," she added, almost proudly.

Fiona grinned, jogging ahead of the boys as they entered the small village. There was a pub down at the end of the main street, and a few shops along either side—a chemist, a clothing store, a bank—only what was necessary for the small Irish village. And that included the pub, naturally.

"So, d'you guys want t'go get something to eat?" Fi asked, heading towards the pub, the others following.

"That'd be good, as I've not yet eaten except for that tea and fruitbread your Mum gave us, and it's about half-past ten, so I could use a bite to eat," Lily said, holding open the door for the others.

The pub was small and rather dark, with scrubbed wooden tables and stools, and a tiled counter. There were a few people sitting at the bar, most being farmers living on plots of land similar to Fi's family's, who had just come down to the village for a drink. Though it smelled rather strongly of alcohol and smoke from the rowdy customers they had every night, including the previous, Fiona ignored it (or was perhaps used to it) and seated her group at one of the larger tables. Remus took the seat next to hers, causing her to blush slightly, and then the old barkeep, MacBradaigh, sauntered over, setting down cold glasses of water, and smiled at her. "Ah, Fiona, how are yeh? We've not seen yeh much this summer, 'ave we?"

Fi shook her head, smiling politely. "Nah, I've had loads of work t'do at home, and not much time to roam about the village as I please."

"Aye, my Brenna knows the feelin'—she's been helpin' out 'round here since she got out o' school for the summer. Been a real angel, she 'as." He smiled fondly while Fiona still kept the polite smile plastered on her face—she wasn't too fond of Brenna, for many reasons…

"You know," MacBradaigh continued, "She turns seventeen t'day; we're 'aving a real party t'night if you lot'd like to join 's. The 'ole pub'll be full to t'brim with village folk, and y'might enjoy yerselves—we're puttin' together a live band and such. Say, Fi darlin', couldyeh play yer flute tonight, please? We were goin' t' have the O'Flaerty lad do it, but 'e came down with a nasty bout of coughin' and couldn' make 't."

"I…s'pose," Fi said, purposefully ignoring the looks everyone was giving her.

"Thanks s'much!" MacBradaigh said happily. Then: "Oh! I near forgot—what'll you lot be 'avin' t'eat?"

After placing their orders, and much repeating on the old barkeep's part due to the fact that half the company couldn't tell what he was saying through his accent, MacBradaigh left to the back room and everyone turned to Fi. She raised her eyes to the heavens and waited:

"You didn't say you play flute!"

"I do," Fi said, shrugging and sipping her iced water.

"You never told any of us, though."

"Yes she did," Remus said, but immediately shut up and turned slightly red as Sirius said, "Oh, _did _she?"

"Look, it's just a flute. Not a life-altering factor in your visit. Honestly, they're only being charitable, if you really analyze the situation," Fi said practically, flipping her hair behind her shoulders. "I mean, they all consider me a freak here. They just need a flutist for his_ darling_ daughter—oh, _hello_, Brenna!"

Brenna MacBradaigh had stepped out from behind the bar, carrying the tray with their meals stacked atop it. She gave Fiona a rather awkwardly long _You're-Not-Supposed-To-Be-Here _sort of look and then remembered herself and set the tray down on a nearby table, setting silverware in front of each of them. Fiona rolled her eyes as all three boys immediately stared at the waitress, agape—this was usual. And really, she couldn't blame them. 

Brenna was perfect. That was the short way of stating it. The girl was tall, slim, and always looked perfectly clean and trim—a wonder, as she lived in a farming community where hardly anyone had jeans that didn't have huge rips in the knees (Fi's did, at any rate). Her hair was raven-black and in ringlets, and fell over her shoulders in exactly the right way, never out of place. She had clear blue eyes, and skin the same shade as Fi's, only dusted with freckles. 

"Hello…Fiona…" Brenna said cautiously. "What are you doing away from the farm? Didn't your Da say he was going fishing t'day?"

"I've got guests, Brenna," Fi stated, as politely as she could force herself to be towards Brenna MacBradaigh the Perfect. "They wanted t'see the village. Thought we'd stop by the pub and get a bite."

Brenna looked as if this was something simply disgusting to do—at least for Fi—and nodded, plastering on a smile nearly as sickeningly sweet as Fi's. "Well, that's lovely. Are yeh going t' introduce me?"

Fi sighed. She'd seen Brenna eyeing Sirius inconspicuously for the past moment. "Right, this is Remus Lupin, Sirius Black," (Sirius looked positively thrilled to get to shake her hand, and Sapphira was very carefully displaying that she didn't care) "James Potter, Lily Andrews, and Sapphira Lowell." Everyone looked up as the door opened and a short, blonde boy walked in, looking nervous. "And, unless I'm much mistaken, that'd be Peter Pettigrew."

Peter turned in their direction and a relieved smile spread over his face. "Oh, good, I thought it was you guys I saw go in here. I needed some breakfast." He seated himself next to Sirius and sighed.

"You couldn't come by yourself?" Fi asked, raising an eyebrow as Brenna gave Peter the same look one would give an annoying seven-year-old.

"Didn't want to," Peter said, blushing brightly as he sat down next to Sapphira.

Fiona sighed. Apparently, the relationships had somewhat evolved over the summer. _Well, for the most part, _she thought, glancing at Lily and James. Sirius was scratching the back of his neck and looking bored, Sapphira was discreetly glancing at Sirius, and Peter was practically drooling on the table as he glanced at Sapphira. Well, it would make for an interesting school year, anyway. For now, though, she had to get Brenna to leave. "Well, Brenna, thanks so much for bringing out the food, here's the money, bye, then."

Brenna nodded, looking quite thoroughly annoyed at having to wait on Fiona, of all people, and left for the back room and kitchen. Fi turned back to her friends and sighed. "Well, I guess I'm stuck going to this thing. You could probably wait at the inn, or maybe the house if you like…"

"Wait, who said we weren't coming?" James asked, leaning forward over the table. "I mean, we _were _invited, weren't we?"

"Well, yes," Fi said tiredly. "But Brenna's…Well, she's…She's unpleasant, sometimes, that one. I never liked her much. However, this is going to be quite a party, so if you'd like to come, I guess I don't mind." She shrugged. "I mean, there'll be dancing and such. Nothing out of the ordinary."

She sighed yet again (she seemed to be doing quite a bit of this lately) as they all nodded vigorously, chattering. Yes, parties at Irish pubs could be fun, but not if Brenna was involved. She had a tendency to…Well, the last time Fi had been to one of Brenna's parties, somehow everyone had been told that she was a "freak" and should be considered dangerous. Though James, Sirius, Remus, Sapphira, and Lily knew what she was, Brenna was bound to find a way to make it sound and seem ten times worse. Fi just hoped they trusted her over Brenna.

A/N: Okay, since I'm on nasty medication, my writers' block is for the most part cured (mind, my writing's bizarre, but hey, its existent, right?), so the next bit should be up soon. I'm balancing this with Lost, so I'm sort of taking awhile to write each one. I just figured I needed to post something on this story. Hopefully the next bit won't be nearly as cheesy. If it's going to come from an aerosol can, it may as well be whipped cream…


	8. Part 13 (Darkness! Muahahaha! Go read Eb...

Disclaimer: I own naught but Fi. Okay, I technically own Brenna, too, but she's only useful for practicing hexes on. Ebony Foxfire owns Sapphira and Pilib (*laughs hysterically* And she can HAVE him!), J.K. Rowling the Brilliant owns everybody else (Wish I owned Remus, though…Oh, did I actually write that? Eh-heh…)

A/N: **IF YOU HAVE NOT READ EBONY FOXFIRE'S ACCOMPANYING PIECE, THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER WILL MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. **So go read it if you've not. It's really good.

**__**

Fa A Bhialainn Ann

Part 13

By Veralidaine

__

Somewhere deep inside me 

I hold a picture of a time long gone 

A time of ease and simple pleasures 

And days in shadows not so long 

Now with my mind I'm struggling 

Holding on to what I believe 

Listen to the fragments of my thoughts 

That leave me broken and deceived 

'Cause I don't know the way 

**--Trust, by Sarah McLachlan (yet another genius…), from the album, 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'**

The smell of smoke choked the group of teenagers standing next to the smoldering house, and Fiona, body rigid with a horrible mixture of shock, grief, and fear, choked on a sob as the world sort of spun and tipped like some twisted carnival ride gone wrong. "MA!" Fi hurled herself towards the house, but someone grabbed her, twisting her arms behind her and restraining her. "No! Lemme go! _MA!_" she shrieked, pulling against the strong grip. 

"Fi, stop!" 

Fiona recognized Remus' yell from behind her, but didn't cease her anguished cries and pulling, and finally, with one particularly hard yank, Remus lost his grip and, surprised at the sudden lack of restraint, she fell to the ground. Ignoring the pain in her knees and hands, the girl stumbled to her feet and jogged towards the house, emotion twisting her lungs, making her incapable of breathing. She stopped dead near what had been the doorway—the one the seven of them had walked through not three hours ago, leaving a smiling and waving Moreen behind. It was charred black, and the rest of the small cottage was violently burning. 

The heat seared her face and bare arms, but Fiona didn't notice. Her throat constricted and she choked, tears running down her face. Someone grabbed her arms and pulled her back from the house quickly, just as a rather large beam that most likely had been part of the little porch out front fell where she'd been standing. Fi turned overflowing eyes to the group behind her, which was missing two—Sirius and James, judging by the retreating backs she could see in the distance, heading towards the village—and Remus, hand still firmly gripping her wrist, pulled her into a hug. Fi was able to see over his shoulder, and could make out Lily and Sapphira standing in the pitch-blackness and staring, transfixed, at the glowing Dark Mark, which didn't seem to want to go away, as Peter cowered behind the two of them. 

A chill ran up and down Fi's spine, freezing and horrible, and she gave a small yelp and everything sort of blacked out as she went limp in Remus' arms.

*

Ever so slowly, a sort of cold feeling crept into Fiona's fingers, waking her senses from the warmth that unconsciousness had, until then, supplied. Her eyelids seemed glued shut somehow, but that didn't matter; she didn't want to open her eyes anyway. For a fraction of a second, she couldn't remember why, but then reality hit, and if she'd thought she was cold earlier, that had been nothing. Fi curled up, making herself as small as possible, and choked back another sob.

A hand brushed her hair out of her face and, giving a strangled gasp, her eyes snapped open.

"Awfortheloveof—" She blinked a few times, breathing quickly. "Remus, you near scared me to death! I…I…" Fi trailed off, biting her lip to keep from breaking down completely. There was a long pause. 

"It was…a bad dream, right?" Her eyes widened as he avoided her gaze. "It had to've been…Remus? Tell me it's all okay? Please?" No response. "Oh, no…Oh no oh no oh no…"

"Shh, calm down," he said quickly, grabbing her shoulders gently. "Please calm down…'Phira said you'd mentioned your father and brother being on a fishing trip, so we sent some people of the village to go look for them and tell them what's happened—no, no, calm down…" He looked extremely nervous as Fi threatened to lose it again. "Calm down. Now. The…fire department…Got there, and they stopped the fire, and the ministry officials performed memory charms and such." He sighed. "At any rate, they managed to stop the fire before it completely destroyed the property…"

"DAMMIT!" she cried suddenly, sitting up quickly and sending a startled Remus scooting backward from where he'd been sitting on the bed next to her. "I don't CARE about the bloody property! I care about my MA!" she yelled, banging her fists on the thick blankets for emphasis. "What did'you think I'd say to that, 'Oh, alright, then, so long as my flower bed's okay'? Bullocks to that! Where's my Ma?"

Remus raised his eyebrows and looked as if he were debating what he should say to answer that. "Well…" He sighed, glancing at the closed door, and for the first time, Fi noticed that she was in a room, probably at the local inn. But she'd ask about that later. 

"Tell me, Remus, or by the howneyman, I'll shove your wand so far up your—"

"Alright!" he interrupted, obviously not wanting to know where that was going. "_Alright_…"

He stood up, massaging his temples like he always did when he was anxious or worried, and brushed his hair back out of his face. "I'm not s'posed to talk to you about this yet, and if you tell anyone I have, they'll probably have my hide. I think Lily was particularly concerned that I not give you the impression that…Well, you see, they didn't want you to think that there was a chance that…Because it's so unlikely that…And—"

"Just spit it out," Fi said quietly. "Is she dead, or is she not? Simple question."

Remus looked at her, obviously resigning himself to having to answer directly. "We don't know, to be completely truthful."

Pause. "You dunno."

"…No."

"What d'you mean, _you dunno?_" Fi swallowed down another choking sob. "When you found her _was she breathing?_" The last part of that question had come out as a hoarse shout, and Remus jerked his head towards the door, indicating that Lily was most likely nearby and listening. Fi shut up.

"Well," Remus continued after a moment's silence, "that's just it."

"What? What's just it?"

"We didn't find a body."

Fi's jaw dropped, but Remus held up a hand. "_That's _why I'm not s'posed to tell you that. It's really…" He sighed and continued gently, "It's really unlikely that she's alive, Fi."

"But you didn't find a body."

"No, but—"

"Then there's a chance." Fi slumped back down into the pillows and brought her hands up to her eyes. "There's a chance…" she whispered, breathing raggedly.

She opened her eyes to see that Remus had again taken his position next to the bed. She sat up, sniffing back tears as inconspicuously as she could manage. "I'm sorry I snapped at you…" she stated, merely because she couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment. "I—"

"Don't," Remus murmured, resting a hand on her shoulder gently. He looked at her, concern evident in his eyes. "Are you okay, though? Did you get burned?"

She shook her head, but brought her palms up from her lap to examine them. They were raw and cut from her fall, and she could tell that her knees had probably been skinned quite thoroughly. However, she shook her head again and gave Remus a watery half-smile, which quickly disintegrated into silent tears. Biting her lip to stifle the sobs racking her chest and throat, she bowed her head quickly, hiding behind a curtain of tangled brown locks. She was pulled into Remus' arms and, after a moment of holding her breath and shaking, she regained her composure somewhat. "Does anyone know why they attacked my house?" she whispered, pulling away gently.

He wiped a remaining tear away with his thumb and shook his head. "No…They have no idea. It makes no sense at all. Especially since you're a Slytherin, and all…He attacks randomly, I suppose."

She nodded, swallowing hard—her throat seemed very dry and sore. She glanced around her at the inn room with reddened eyes and sniffed. "Where are we?"

"O'Donnagáin's Inn, in the village. We got two rooms here for free, seeing as how…" He stopped at the look on her face. "Anyway," he continued after a moment, "everyone's in the other room for now. They didn't want to wake you."

Fi slid her legs out from under the blankets and over the side of the bed, noticing that her jeans' knees were torn and bloodied. Remus looked concerned, but she shook him off and stood up, sighing and running a hand through her hair as far as it could go without hitting a snarl. She headed towards the door and opened it, feeling as though she were in a very odd and unpleasant dream. She woke up, though, as someone came down the hallway, still wearing her tight little miniskirt and too much makeup. 

"Oh, McLellan," she said, eyeing Fi's hair and clothes with distaste. "Nice hair, darlin'." She twirled a lock of her own heavily-sprayed coal black hair and glanced at her innocently. "There's quite a bit o' chatterin' goin' on down in the main entrance…Summat about a fire?" She looked expectant, and when Fi merely stared at her expressionlessly, pushed onward as if the girl was merely being stupid on purpose. 

"Soooo, I was wond'ring if yeh'd heard what the problem was? And what're yeh doing 'ere, a' this time a'night?" She looked past her and saw Remus, who stood up from the bed and came to stand next to her. "_Well…_Isn't _this_ interesting…"

Fi felt a Brenna-comment coming on, and merely stared at her, not having the energy or leftover emotion to glare. Brenna smirked and glanced past her at Remus. "So, how much'd she pay yeh?"

Remus' jaw dropped, and Fi merely raised an eyebrow as she was pushed behind him protectively. Even with all her worries and issues right now, she had enough normal attitude in her to think, _this ought t'be interesting…_ "I'll have you know," Remus said in a rather lower, more growling voice than Fi had ever heard before, "that that fire? It burned down the McLellan house." He braced his hands on either side of the doorframe, leaning against it. "And you," he said, lowering the volume of his voice even more, "are an ignorant tart, and I'll not let you speak to her or about her like that. _Peloenhadis._"

There was a shriek, and Fi saw a rather large bundle of black curls fall to the floor just outside the door before hearing Brenna's quickly retreating footsteps and yells. 

Remus turned back to Fi, looking embarrassed. "I dunno what made me do it…"

"You didn't even use a wand," Fi said, blankly. "What'd yeh do t'er, anyway?"

Remus shrugged, still embarrassed. "A…Rather large chunk of her hair sort of…disconnected itself from her scalp. I know, I know," he added quickly, "it was a horrible thing to do, and I'll refrain from doing it again, but—"

"_Whisht_," she murmured giving him a tiny smile. "You're wonderful. Now, I think we ought to go assure t'others that I'm alive and well." She turned to find him blushing, and rolled here eyes, looking as annoyed as an emotionally-drained seventeen-year-old girl can look at one in the morning. "C'mon, blush later."

*

"She _didn't!_"

"She did." Fi glanced at the horrified looks on her friends' faces. When she'd come into the room, her friends had been stony-faced, and all had flocked around her, concerned for her well-being, but she'd shrugged them off, assuring them that she was okay for the time being, and told them about Brenna. And now Lily was quite furious at the now-hairless girl's little comment. But then, she'd not let Fi get to the bit about hair yet.

Lily looked supremely angry, and stood up, heading towards the door. "That little—"

"No, no." Fi waved her hand. "Remus already avenged me."

"Did he?" Sirius grinned broadly at Remus, a rather nasty glint in his eyes. "What exactly did you do, then, Moony ol' pal?"

James elbowed Sirius and he shut up; meanwhile Remus fidgeted, looking embarrassed. Fi smiled lightly, hugging her bathrobe tighter around her. "He used a useful little charm and…she's missing a rather large amount of hair."

There was a loud shout of a giggle/cheer from the nearest chair, and when everyone turned their heads, Sapphira clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, I mean, how horrid. How simply _dreadful_. Remus, how could you do such a thing?"

This was entirely unconvincing, as she was grinning and had suppressed laughter in her eyes as she scolded poor Remus, who was now quite red, and being elbowed rather conspicuously by Sirius. He glanced at Remus. "Yes, how _could_ you do such a thing?"

"Actually, I thought it might do you some good, Sirius," Remus stated calmly, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. "You seemed a tad too fond of her this evening. And she's not even a Veela. Something had to be done."

Fi glanced at Sapphira, and was wordlessly informed that Remus was on the American's good list for the evening.

"I wasn't _fond _of her," Sirius said defiantly. "I don't even fancy her."

"Well, no, of course you don't, she's got a bald spot now. It was a different story when you were dancing topless on the bar, wasn't it?" 

"For your information," Sirius noted sniffily, "_she _tricked me. I didn't know it was special tea." Remus raised an eyebrow. "No, really! I was enjoying a perfectly good dance with 'Phira, and she came and dragged me off and gave me a glass of iced tea." He paused, glancing at his unconvinced audience. "Well, it was _good tea…_What?"

Lily snorted. "You're a hopeless case, Sirius, and I worry for the woman who ends up marrying you."

Sirius stuck his tongue out, looking all the more mature. "Yes, yes, you're all terribly _witty_. I'm off to bed, then." He gave Fi one last little _you're-okay,-right?_ glance before waving vaguely at them all and heading for the next room and the sleeping bags they'd been provided.

"Yeah, he's got a point," James muttered, sliding his arm from Lily's shoulders. "It's nearly three-thirty, and I dunno what they're going to want us to do tomorrow…"

"And you," Lily said, pointing accusingly at Fi, "desperately need sleep."

"Yes," Remus yawned. "Well, I think I'll go find my sleeping bag, then. G'night, all."

He paused for a moment, then gave Fi a quick peck on the cheek before heading unusually quickly out of the room. Lily, who had followed James into the next room a moment earlier, was promptly booted out as soon as Remus entered and, looking somewhat surly and the graceless hint, the redhead joined the other two girls in their room. "_Well…_"

Fi smiled slightly. At least her mind had been taken off it for a few moments…That was something…She looked up as Sapphira heaved a great sigh. "What's wrong?"

"'S not fair…" she mumbled, chin resting on her hands, elbows on her lap. 

"What's not?" Lily said, running a comb through her hair and yawning.

"Sirius is a twit."

"Well, we all knew that."

"Yes, but even Remus kissed Fi goodnight." Sapphira sighed again.

"Did he _really?_" Lily cocked an eyebrow at Fi, who rolled her eyes, but smiled a bit.

"Yes," Sapphira sighed. "And Sirius is a twit."

"Look, sweetie," Lily said, tossing her hair behind her shoulders and sighing, "it took James the better part of _two years _to figure out exactly _why _I came to every single one of his Quidditch matches, or offered to tutor him in Charms, or tended to bat my eyelashes when he came within twenty feet of me. Boys are stupid. You have to practically scream it in their face before they comprehend."

"Well, that…" Sapphira cast about for a proper description. "That sucks."

"Yes, it does," Lily said. "It drives you absolutely crackers for awhile, and then you get annoyed, and they wonder vaguely what the hell is wrong with you. And then they figure out that you're mad at them. And then they wonder vaguely _why_. Like I said, they're slow."

"They're all dense," Fi added hoarsely—her throat was still sore. "Mind, I didn't bat my eyelashes, but—"

"No, but you transformed in front of him without a change of clothes," Lily added evilly.

Fi turned crimson, and Sapphira's eyes widened. "I've…not…heard that story…"

"And you're not going to now," Fi said loudly, raising her eyebrows at Lily.

Sapphira giggled, but grew silent rather quickly. "Fi, I'm sorry, look at me. _You're_ comforting _me_, and it's you who needs it more."

"I'm okay," Fi said truthfully. She had been horrified, but now she was merely numb. And somewhere inside her, there was hope that maybe…She sighed deeply. "I needed the distraction."

As Fiona climbed into the large bed, feeling guilty that Sapphira and Lily had insisted on taking sleeping bags, she closed her eyes and attempted to think of other places and times, easier on her mind and heart. She settled on a certain Hogsmeade visit several months ago and, smiling lightly, sighed and allowed her senses to dull and her mind to drift off into sleep.

*

__

"Do you want her back?"

Fi's eyelids were glued shut again. She shivered at the odd voice—she'd never heard it before. It was unfamiliar and cold, and oddly whispery and…frightening. It made her curl up more, only she could not feel her warm covers around her anymore for some reason.

"Answer me, Mudblood."

Fiona opened her eyes, but it made no difference. Everything was black, and for some reason, infinitely cold. She was surrounded by cold and dark, and that horrid voice kept cutting through her mind, hurting it almost.

"If you do not answer, I will hurt her."

"Who?" Fi managed weakly; her vocal chords didn't seem to want to cooperate at the time. Vaguely, she wondered if it was the cold.

"What do you mean, 'who?'" the voice spat, making Fiona flinch. "Your mother_, you ignorant wench!"_

"Ma?" The cold worsened. "Is this…Voldemort?"

"Oh, well-done."

"What've you done with'er?" Fi demanded, voice still coming out weakly, seemingly muffled by the inky blackness. "Why d'you want her?"

"I don't want her_, you stupid girl," the Dark Lord said simply. "She's of no use to me. You, however, are."_

"Why d'you want me, then?" Fi asked tremulously, hugging herself—the cold was becoming unbearable. _She couldn't feel her fingers anymore. "What good am I to you?"_

"Do you want your mother back, you poor little Irish Mudblood?"

"Don't you dare hurt her, you—"

Voldemort gave a sarcastic chuckle that sent those same horrible cold chills that came along with the Dark Mark down her spine. "Now, now, there's no need for uncouth language. Answer the question, or I'll hurt her."

"Yes, I want her back! Just don't hurt her…"

"I thought you might, somehow," Voldemort said softly, making the hairs on the back of Fi's neck stand up. "I will release her when you come to me. You see, you're part of my plans…"

"What part? I want nothing to do with your plans, you murderer! You…You… Arracht! Bodmhadra! Péisteanna!_ You killed Annelle!"_

"Yes, and she screamed quite nicely, I assure you."

Fiona hurled more insults at the horrid excuse for a wizard, much nastier than the last few…He seemed to be laughing, though, if anything.

"Yes, yes, you're clever. I shall speak to you again."

"Wait! Is…Is Ma still alive?"

"Yes…For now."

"For NOW?"

"Yes. She'll stay that way if you agree to my bargain."

"Bargain?" Fi squeaked. 

"I shall present it to you later. Go, wake up and pretend to be cheery for your friends, Mudblood. If you let on that we've talked, you will regret it. And so will your mother."

The blackness swirled, and Fi screamed loudly, angry and frightened tears brimming in her eyes.

"Fi! Fi, stop screaming! Wake up!"

"Fi…"

Fiona sat up quickly, causing Lily and Sapphira to jump back in alarm. Fi held a hand to her cold, sweaty forehead, breathing shakily and eyes quite round. "Oh…My…God…"

"What…What's wrong?" Sapphira asked worriedly, while Lily merely stared, eyes wide.

Fi glanced at them. _If you let on that we've talked, you will regret it. And so will your mother. _"Nothing," she whispered after a moment. "Nothing…Just a…Just a nightmare…"

But it wasn't. 

A/N: Ahhh! Darkness! Oh, this is SO going to be interesting…*looks extremely proud of self* Muahahaha! Review or I'll be extremely put out. How's that for a threat? ^_^

Also, a quick definition list:

Arracht - Monster

Bodmhadra - Mongrel

Péisteanna – Reptile/Monster/Worm/Generally Nasty Thing

Okay, review please!

__


	9. Part 14 (Even MORE Darkness, and a relat...

Fa A Bhialiainn Ann Disclaimer: I own naught but Fi. Sapphira Lowell is Ebony Foxfire's, and everybody else belongs to Rowling the Brilliant. ****

A/N: I am on a roll, here! I just posted a bit of Lost yesterday, and I finished this at about two o'clock this morning! I LOVE Spring Break!

Right, so sorry about that last cliffhanger. *shoots Ebony a Look* Her fault. I did end Lost with a cliffhanger, though. A very similar cliffhanger…Well, we've got issues that way. I actually finished that at the same time she did, so it wasn't like we planned that…Weird, I know…*ahem* Well, anyway, here's the next bit of this. Enjoy. Review. Go read Ebony's piece before this or you'll be thoroughly confused…

Oh, and there's some rather nasty language used in this. Nothing really bad, but Sirius has a pottymouth, as does *gasp* Remus, and a certain other character…Ah, I'll stop trying for mysterious, here. Go read it.

****

Fa A Bhialiainn Ann

Part 14

By Veralidaine

__

A clouded dream on an earthly night

Hangs upon the crescent moon

A voiceless song in an ageless light

Sings at the coming dawn

Birds in flight are calling there

Where the heart moves the stones

It's there that my heart is longing 

All for the love of you

~ "The Mystic's Dream," by Loreena McKennitt (read this after Lupin's dream, will you? ^_^)

(A few hours earlier…)

Fi dove into the water, enjoying the cool, calming effect it had on her. She loved swimming, and gradually over the summer had learned to control her transformations to the point where just swimming didn't give her flippers and whiskers. Overall, she wasn't so scared of her powers now, and was starting to enjoy them, somewhat. She was still rather resentful, however, at the definition of Selke in _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_, but she let it go at that.

She sat up as water hit her face, spluttering a bit. Remus was standing next to her, in the deeper waters just beyond the breaking point of the waves, and he was grinning. "Oh, sorry, did I splash you?"

"Don't try to be Sirius. You can't get away with his pranks—you look far too guilty." Inhaling sharply, Fi dove down and, with a graceful turn under water, surfaced directly in front of him, but only allowed her eyes and the top of her head to break the surface. Her hair was currently flowing in all directions around her, and she smiled under the water while he grinned down at her.

"Now, when you do that, you really do look like a sea creature."

She brought her chin up above the water. "Oh? Are you thinking sea creature in a nice way, like a mermaid, or were you thinking more along the lines of a grindylow?"

"Actually," he said, obviously going into the "Professor Lupin" mode, as Sirius had so willingly dubbed it, "neither one is that attractive. I mean, in the Prefect's bathroom they've got that mermaid painting, but really, they don't look at all like that. As for grindylows—"

"I've got two weeks," Fi interrupted, "before I have to go back to learning, Remus, so don't even try…My head's got some nice cobwebs going and I don't really feel like sweeping them out just now."

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at her, and amused expression on his face as he surveyed her. "You know," he said after a moment, "you really ought to have a lie on the beach. You're looking fairly pale. Paler than usual, I mean."

"I've been lying on the beach all summer. I burn, but I don't tan. It hurts, so I don't do it." She grinned at him. "Liam's the same way. Ma and Da worry 'bout him…" She trailed off a bit, running her finger in circles in the gently rising and falling water. Remus caught her hand with his and she looked up. "What?"

He was looking at her concernedly. "Fi…"

She shrugged. "Well, Da should be back soon. He was on that fishing trip with Liam, and they've heard, but it's taking time to get back. Prob'ly tomorrow afternoon." She sighed. "I just hope he lets me come back to Hogwarts…" 

Looking up, she saw that this had not occurred to Remus, and now he looked really worried. On the other hand, she wasn't really planning on going back to school anyway…She didn't want to do leave, but _he _had insisted…When she'd tried it the other night, Sapphira had caught her and suddenly all the threats and voices in her head went quiet. Obviously, Voldemort had known he had to stop then, but tonight was going to be worse. She'd have to go, and she couldn't let Sapphira or anyone else stop her. She didn't want that monster to hurt her Ma. What he wanted with _her_ was completely a mystery to poor Fiona, but she wasn't going to let him do anything to her mother, especially since she was a Muggle and had nothing to do with any of this.

"You will come back to school, right?" 

Fiona looked up to see Remus looking at her in a would-be calm sort of way, and smiled reassuringly, feeling sick to her stomach. "Of…Of course. Da will let me if I tell him how much it means to me." She was lying through her teeth—she hoped to be gone before her Da even got back. But if she said anything, Remus would stop her, or worse yet, Voldemort would hurt her mother.

She glanced around, taking in the rocky shore, James and Lily's flirtatious water-fight, and Sirius and Sapphira, each currently trying to dunk the other in the waves. "I do love Ireland…"

"More than England?"

"Well, I love Ireland just like you love England. It's my home. I wouldn't ever want to give it up." Now she really felt unwell. She'd have to give it up. Soon.

"Not for anything?"

"Some things," she muttered. "Some people."

"Like who?" He was watching her curiously, obviously aware that something was going on that he didn't know about, and that Fiona wasn't keen on sharing her information.

"Dunno…" Fi said vaguely. Then she looked up at him and noticed his concern. Maybe if she teased him a bit, he'd stop worrying… "Lily, maybe? After all, she _is _one of my best friends…" She grinned at him, knowing it must have looked extremely fake. She just couldn't put her heart into it. It felt wrong to lie to him, of all people, but she had to…

"Lily, huh?" He grabbed her hands and pulled her up next to him, smirking. "Well. Thanks."

"What, were you expecting me to say _you?_" she said with halfhearted sarcasm. "Huh."

"Yes. I'm terribly hurt now." He looked down at her small hands in his big ones and smiled. "Well."

"Well." Now she wasn't sure quite what to do. He obviously could see through the façade, and now he felt like she didn't trust him. She sighed. "Remus…" Well, now what? He was looking at her expectantly—what was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to express this, without endangering everyone? _Ugh, McLellan, how _do _you do it…_

Without even thinking, she just grabbed his shoulders, pulled him down towards her, and planted a quick, gentle kiss on his lips. Well, now at least she'd done that…She'd vowed to herself some time ago that she would, preferably before graduation. Well, time was running out, now, as she was thoroughly convinced that she'd never graduate or, for that matter, ever see him again after that night. She was fairly sure she'd be dead by the end of the week, really. 

She started as James catcalled, but it wasn't directed towards them. Sirius had Sapphira's arms pinned behind her back and appeared to have just kissed her. _About bloody time,_ Fi thought, smiling slightly. Besides, it saved her having to see what exactly Remus' reaction was to her spontaneous little bout of romance. Reaching behind her, she grabbed Remus' wrist and dragged him towards the surf so as to find out exactly what had happened.

Fiona's head snapped up, but all she could see was darkness. A dream? …No, she'd actually experienced it. But then—? Oh, no… 

Something in her lungs felt constricted, and suddenly she just started sobbing, realizing what had happened. She'd been trying to give Remus a quick kiss goodnight, but then that annoying boy…And then…Then it all blurred. Remus was trying to grab her hand, but by then everything faded out…And then…

Something was horribly, terribly wrong now. She could feel the darkness pressing in against her skin—Voldemort was obviously nearby, and this had to be that—that horrible Castle…What was it called…Something dreadful, Fi remembered, but her thoughts were so scattered and completely random and panicked…Arkaniss! Yes, that was it…She shuddered at the way it sounded, even just in her mind.

She was obviously in some stone room or cell—the floor was cold and hard, and a bit wet, as if she were in a cave. She shivered, not really from the intense cold, and curled into a little ball. She knew, without looking, that her wand had been taken from her. Lying down on her side, she wiped her face dry with her sleeve and tried to keep warm, shutting her eyes tightly and trying to refrain from whimpering.

She gasped and sat up as a square of emerald light appeared, splashing cold greenness over her. A door she hadn't known existed had been opened, and there was a tall, black-clad figure standing in it. Fi, shaking with fear and cold, scrambled as far away as she could, eventually hitting a wall with her back, and then she slowly slid her body up against it until she was standing. "Who's…Who's there?"

Whoever it was suddenly looked visibly nervous at the sound of her voice, which was odd, since Fiona had always thought of Voldemort and his supporters as being tall, strong, and emotionless. The figure shifted slightly and cleared his throat. "Never mind that. Get over here." Fi didn't move. "I said, get over here. Now." 

When Fi still didn't budge, he (yes, it could only be male) strode over and roughly grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the green-lit door. As he pulled her into the stone hallway, she started struggling, not wanting to go where she knew she'd inevitably be going—to Voldemort. The guard, or whoever it was, was obviously getting annoyed with her constant whimpers and pulling. "Stoppit—stop doing that, I—" He grabbed her shoulders and pinned her to the wall, and in doing so, his hood fell back. Fiona gasped.

It was Snape.

Severus Snape.

He looked at her coldly, dark eyes locked on her light ones. Her jaw had fallen open, leaving her lips in an O of surprise. With one hand, he pushed her against the wall; with the other, he pulled up his hood again. "Not a word, McLellan."

Fi found her voice and completely ignored him. "You! How…How _could_ you, I—" She broke off as something constricted her throat, cutting off her breath. Snape was looking slightly nervous at this and turned to meet another figure that had just turned into their corridor from somewhere ahead. His wand was directed at Fi's throat, and was obviously the source of the unpleasant choking sensation.

"Let her go," Snape muttered distractedly, eyes flickering between the new hooded figure and Fiona. "Not worth it; just let her go."

"Now's not the time to go soft, Severus," drawled the figure, and Fi realized just who it was. "She's an arrogant wench, and the only reason Master wants her is because she's basically the result of breeding between species. Oh, stop pretending not to care—" he flicked his wrist and Fi gasped for breath "—I mean really, I never understood your attraction to her."

"Malfoy, I swear to God, you and Snape will pay for this, I—" Fi shut up as Snape clapped a hand over her mouth.

Removing it, he glared at her. "Stop talking, McLellan, or he'll do it again. Just come without flailing about like an idiot and maybe your throat muscles will remain intact." 

Suddenly, a door some fifty feet down the corridor opened, revealing more green light (the Muggle in Fi wondered vaguely where it was all coming from), and the cold in the hallway increased to such a level that Fi could see her breath in front of her. She knew who was behind the door. This wasn't going to be pretty.

*

"Oh, would you _shut him up!_" Remus yelled, surprising everyone. They all looked at him, including Pilib, who had been the "him" mentioned in that little outburst. Remus went back to running his fingers distractedly through his hair and completely coming undone. _No, _he thought, _Remus Lupin does _not_ come undone. I just don't. I'm the calm, cool, collected one, here. Sirius and James come undone. Peter goes into panic attacks. Not me. I don't do that. I work things out logically and—Oh, God, she kissed me this afternoon—I knew something was up then, and now she's gone and I know Voldemort got her and what if he hurts her—that bastard—if he so much as touches her I swear on Merlin's grave he'll pay for it with his life, the dirty monster, I—_

"Remus?" a soft voice interrupted, and he looked up from his position of sitting with his head in his hands in the room's only chair—everyone had run inside after Fi's abduction, afraid that they'd lose another member. Now they were gathered in their room at the inn, panicked and unsure—and trying to shut bloody Pilib the Muggle and his endless questions up. The speaker turned out to be Lily, and, squatting down to his level, she put a small hand on his shoulder, looking into his face, thin eyebrows slanted with concern. "Are…Are you okay?"

"Do I _look_ bloody okay?" Remus hissed. "He took her! Dammit, Lily, and I knew something was going on, I just _knew _it…She wasn't acting right, it was all awkward and she acted like something was really wrong and I couldn't take the hint and now she's gone, Lily, and we have to do something—what if he hurts her? I'll kill him, I will, if he so much as touches her, and what will we do? We have to do something, Lil, we _have _to…" He paused at this point to take a deep breath and regain his relative calm.

Lily was looking at him, eyes wide, obviously shocked at such a completely panicked rant coming from Remus, of all people—Remus himself was a bit surprised, really—and shook her head. "I know, Remus, but really…You have to calm down a bit. Sorry I got you all riled up, then…"

"Why'd she glow green?" There was that terribly annoying, breathless, lispy voice. "Was it _magic? _Oh, that is sooooo _cool!_ Say—Remus, was't?—where d'you s'pose Fiona went?"

That did it. Remus had been on the verge of snapping as it was, and now he was thoroughly annoyed at this idiotic Muggle. On the other hand, they didn't know if he was a Muggle…Remus was starting to lose it— "You know, _Pilib,_ I'm beginning to wonder…You were there when Fi's house burned down, and when you grabbed Fi this time, she all of a sudden glowed green and disappeared. Really, I'm curious as to whom exactly you're working for. I mean, you seem to be conveniently present whenever disaster occurs, and—"

"Remus!" James had been yelling his name for the past few seconds, but Lupin was just a tad preoccupied. Finally he shut up and wheeled on the spot to face James, forgetting about the incredibly confused-looking Pilib, who was glancing at Sapphira questioningly. "Remus, calm down. He's a Muggle. He hasn't a clue what you're on about, and you're rambling. Now I know you're upset, but really—"

"Moony, you're going starkers," Sirius said, without a trace of sarcasm or would-be humor. Of course, Remus noticed, _he _was alright—he had his arm comfortably around Sapphira, who was leaning into him, eyes reddened and looking shocked. It wasn't fair—Fi was gone, and she'd not done anything! Why would Voldemort want her, anyway?

"Well. Thanks for your help, then. We'll just leave her to that monster then," Remus said tonelessly. "'Preciate your caring." He turned, heading for the hallway and the room he shared with James and Sirius. No one argued with him—they all seemed to realize he was off his rocker this evening.

"Where're you going?" Somebody called after him—it sounded like 'Phira, but he wasn't sure. 

"To bed. I can't take it any more. I…Just leave me alone." With a huge sigh, he slammed the room door behind him and flopped down on the bed, face in his pillow. Well, now what? There was absolutely nothing he could do except completely lose his self-control and scream at everyone, like he nearly—well, not really nearly—did tonight. He didn't know where that monster had taken her or how he could help her, and all he could do was hope that she'd be alright.

This was, of course, of little comfort to him, and, punching his pillow in a very un-Remus-Lupin-ish way, he fell into a rather exhausted sleep.

__

He was in the forest, he knew that much. It looked (and smelled, to his abnormally advanced senses) like the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. Through the spidery branches of the trees—'It must be winter,' he thought vaguely—he could see a crescent moon hanging in the blackened sky, just barely illuminating the cold, bare ground beneath his feet.

Looking ahead, he saw something—or someone—running through the trees. Curious, and somehow driven to it, he jogged after it. It always seemed to evade him, drawing farther into the deep woods, moving deftly between the harshly bare branches and dry leaves carpeting the ground. It made practically no noise as it did so, and Remus was giving up hope, until he heard an odd voice—it sounded as though it was coming from underwater, and the tone wavered slightly. It was calling his name, he realized after a moment, but this was odd, as he knew vaguely that that wasn't what his name sounded like, but he knew it was, just the same.

Finally, the thing stopped moving, and he caught up. It was blinding white against the trees, and as he moved closer, he saw that it was a unicorn. The creature turned to look at him, odd, silver-purple eyes taking him in carefully as she (how Remus knew the gender was a mystery to him—it was just on instinct) surveyed him calmly. There was that odd, wavering, watery-quiet voice again. Each word faded in and out slowly, as if it were a badly tuned radio and Remus strained to understand what the creature was telling him.

"…Save her…" The voice faded out again. "…can't talk long…" Once again, quiet. "…not a fae-speak…" Remus was struggling to get what she said, but was failing miserably. "…Arkaniss…taking her awa…must help her…all magical creatu…doomed by Vol…uprising…prediction…lawny…" The unicorn stopped abruptly, pale ears swiveling towards something behind them. She turned her magnificent head, shot him a parting, meaningful glance, and then cantered off into the darkness, leaving Remus standing in the clearing, thoroughly confused. 

Suddenly, his ears picked up the same sound the unicorn must have heard earlier—whatever was coming slithered, it sounded like. Everything went cold—he could see his breath rise in front of him—he was vaguely aware of the sun rising in what had to be the East. Maybe if he ran towards it…The cold was gaining on him, but he could see the sun rising, and…There was a castle in the distance! It wasn't Hogwarts, though…It was old and crumbling, with dead trees lining the surrounding moat and an oddly eerie feeling seemingly seeping from it into the surrounding air. The cold behind him was still coming, but he couldn't force himself to run to the dreadful castle, but at the same time, there was something about that castle that was important…

A small face peeked out of one of the barred windows. It was small and pale, but a sort of light glowed from it, in stark contrast to the darkness and horror of the castle itself. Without even getting a closer look, Remus knew who it was. "Fi!" he tried to call out, but as often happens in dreams, his voice would not function. He tried running towards the castle, but it only seemed farther away. The cold was still catching up to him, and he couldn't quite reach…the castle…cold…but Fi…running…

Remus sat up, sweating and shaking, and swore to himself. Tearing off the quilt that somebody—most likely one of the girls—had thrown on him for warmth, he remembered that he was still fully dressed and grabbed the nearest suitcase. Piling a few extra changes of clothes into it, he threw his cloak over his shoulders and opened the window, extremely glad that their room was on the first floor. He couldn't risk just going out the door like any normal person—Sirius seemed to have (rather intelligently) figured he'd try that and situated his sleeping bag directly in front of it. James had his next to Remus' bed, but spending several days as a wolf every month had its advantages, and Remus could move very quietly, if he wanted to.

He had just slid his suitcase out the window and had gotten one leg over the windowsill when the door adjoining the rooms creaked open, revealing Sapphira. Her hair was mussed and she was wearing her pajamas, and a ball of silver fire glowed in the palm of her right hand. "Goddess, what is _with_ you two?"

"Bugger," Remus muttered, not making any move to cover up for what he was doing.

Sapphira padded over to him, the silver flames casting eerie shadows on the walls. "I won't wake them," she muttered, nodding her head in the direction of the other boys. "But what the hell d'you think you're doing, Remus?"

He glowered at her. "Leave me be, 'Phira, just go back to bed."

Sapphira raised one eyebrow, lips pursed. "Gonna try and rescue her or something?"

"No, I'm going for a stroll; maybe later I'll run by the pub for a drink." He gave her a look. "Goodnight, Sapphira. Go to bed." He slid his other leg over the windowsill and slid himself down onto the ground. Sapphira leaned halfway out the window, casting silver light over Remus and his suitcase. 

She sighed. "You idiot—how're you going to carry that?"

"I'll manage," Remus responded snippily. 

"D'you want my duffel bag?"

He looked up incredulously. "What, you're encouraging me on this?"

She shrugged, leaning her elbows on the windowsill and watching him. "I dunno what you're planning to do, but I figure I'll give you a head start and then tell the others tomorrow. Maybe since you've gone crackers and are trying to find her, they'll actually do something. Believe me, I'm with you on the whole 'let's take action' thing, and even though I think you're going about this in the absolutely stupidest way possible, I'll try to help." She turned away from the window. "_Accio the bloody duffel bag_. There." She threw down the black canvas bag. "Cram your stuff in there and gimme the suitcase. Then go—it's nearly dawn." She paused for a moment. "Where're you going to go first? I mean, we've not the faintest where she's at, do we?"

"Actually, I do…" he muttered, transferring the hastily selected items into the bag.

"How?"

"Dream."

"Ah…" 

Remus glanced up to see if she'd taken him seriously or not. She actually looked as though she thought he might have a point. That or she was doing a very good job humoring him. Maybe she was stalling him until Sirius or somebody woke up and was able to restrain him long enough to tranquilize him or something.

Didn't seem like it, though. He threw her the suitcase and she nodded to him. "Well…Good luck. Send an owl in a few days so we know where you are, at least."

"Right," he agreed, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "See you, 'Phira."

"Right." She yawned, stretching, and muttered, "Sirius's going to kill me, you know."

"Nah, he likes you too much," Remus muttered, turning to leave. "He told me."

"He did?" came the disbelieving reply.

"Actually, yes." Remus responded, not really paying attention to what he was saying, or the fact that Sirius would probably give him a bloody nose for it. Well, if he ever saw Sirius again. "He's really quite fond of you. Thinks you're clever." He turned around, twenty feet away from the glowing window. "Mind, he'd never let on. 'Bye, 'Phira."

"'Bye."

*

Fi's eyes widened with shock. "Wh—What?"

"You're a fae-speaker, aren't you? Then talk to it, Mudblood."

Fiona swallowed roughly, glancing at the huge yellow eyes and glistening green scales. Black, leathery wings beat impatiently as the dragon looked her over in an alarmingly hungry manner.

"Talk to it, or it will most likely have you for a midnight snack. It's not been fed in three months, you know."

Fi glanced back at the snake-like being behind her, who emanated cold and fear, and then looked at the dragon again. She closed her eyes. _Can you hear me?_

Oh, you talk? Damn. And I was hoping I could eat you.

Fi sighed, relieved. _You're not going to eat me, then?  
Can't, _was the glum response, _you can actually talk to me. I can't eat things that talk. It gives me indigestion. And a guilty conscience. Otherwise, you'd be toast. I'm bloody hungry, human. Why can you talk, anyway? Are you a fae-speak?_

Yes.

Oh. I wondered. Well. I suppose that dark creature over there's making you talk to me?

Yes, Fi replied, nervously. _Dunno why…_

Thought to ask him?

No… Fi opened her eyes, breaking the concentration, and turned around, not quite looking at Voldemort. "He wants to know why I'm talking to him."

"Excellent. Tell him if he wants food, he'll have to take orders from me. Through you."

Fi was starting to get the picture now. She relayed this to the dragon, who looked extremely amused. Well, as amused as a large lizard can look.

__

Is he kidding? Who does he think he is?

He's Voldemort. He's nearly the darkest wizard to ever exist. He killed one of my best friends and took my Ma away from me. And now he's using me to get you to work with him. She paused, thoughtful. _Would you eat me, please?_

The dragon chuckled, and a bit of smoke issued from the scaly nostrils, which were each about the size of Fiona's face. _No, youngling, I'm afraid not. Neither of us want to be here, but I'm fairly sure we can find a way out of this. We'll get through this, yet. Tell him I said yes._

But—

I don't mean _it. Satisfy the evil git for right now. He's not that scary to me. _He started to turn around, heading towards the nearest corner, possibly for a nap.

__

You're full of yourself, then.

He turned. _Hey, kid, remember who you're talking to._

You said you wouldn't eat me. I'm not scared.

Then you're just as full of yourself as I am. The dragon seemed satisfied with this, and continued plodding towards the corner, settling himself down. _What's your name, youngling?_

Fi. Yours?

That's on a need-to-know basis. 

Fi was starting to get exasperated. First capture, then Snape and Malfoy, and now immature dragons. _Fine. I'll tell him you've decided you're not hungry._

You can call me Iolar. 

Thought you'd see it my way… Fiona turned to Voldemort. "He…uhm…He says yes."

"Good. That's two fae-speakers and a dragon for my side. Advantageous, don't you think, Snape?"

Snape glanced with carefully masked disgust at his Master and nodded. "Of course, my Lord."

"Yes…Well, Malfoy, I think it would be good for McLellan to return to her cell, if you would assist her?"

Lucius stepped forward. "Gladly," he said softly, a nasty smirk playing across his lips.

Fiona winced as she was thrown to the floor in her cell, rubbing her elbow where it had hit the cold, hard stone. The square of light disappeared as Malfoy closed the door. "Thanks, Malfoy!" She screamed, knowing full-well that he couldn't hear her, or at least, was ignoring her. "You evil git! I swear to God, one of these days I'll—" 

"Would you keep it down, please? You're disturbing my concentration."

Fi stopped, mid-screech, and turned in the dark. "Who's there?"

Sigh. "Your cell-mate. You are a noisy girl, aren't you?"

"Who are you?"

A small sapphire-colored fireball lit, flickering in a small palm. A face appeared above it, illuminated eerily by the blue flames, which reflected twice—once in a pair of glasses, the next in a pair of large gray-green eyes. "The resident psychic. I take it you're the infamous fae-speak?"

"Yeah," Fi said quietly. "I s'pose you got that from the psychic abilities?"

"No," sniffed the girl impatiently. "I heard them talking. But I am psychic."

"Really." Fi stuck out a hand. "I'm Fiona. McLellan."

The strange girl shook it. "And I'm Sibyll Trelawney."

*

Remus dropped the old soda can in the alley, exhausted after a long night of walking to the nearest Wizarding settlement. He'd taken the can as a portkey, and now found himself in an alleyway probably not too far from Diagon Alley and the rest of Wizarding London. But what he needed now was to get to Kings Cross and find a way to get to Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest. Then he'd do the best he could to find her. He knew he was going out on a limb with this, but he had to try something.

*

James sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Moony, ol' pal, wake up. Breakfast." No response. "Remus?" James stood up, glancing at the bed. The quilt Lily had tucked over him had been thrown to the floor, and there was a large brown suitcase next to the window, which turned out to be empty of all his clothes. James swore to himself, and jogged over to the other sleeping bag by the door, trying to wake his friend by shaking him. 

Sirius sat up abruptly in his sleeping bag, muttering something about Quidditch fouls, then opened his eyes. "What?" He lunged for his watch. "What the—James, it's only nine-thirty! Come on, I wanted to sleep late! For the love of—hey, where's Moony? I thought—oh, shit."

*

A/N: Well. That was long, wasn't it? You're turn, Ebony. ^_^

If you guys want to review, I really won't have a problem with it…


	10. Part 15 (Is it possible? Even more darkn...

Fiona put her face in her hands, bringing her knees to her chest ****

Disclaimer: I own naught but Fi.

****

A/N: Well…Here I am. I know it's been ages since I posted something…I'm aware of that--it annoys me to no end when an author waits an unreasonable amount of time to post something (SpamWarrior's allowed--her writing's brilliant), and I sincerely appreciate that, however much I look back on the first few chapters of this and just cringe at the lack of writing skill, some people are still reading this and e-mailing me, asking when the next bit would be finished. You've no idea how nice it is to know that some people are still following this. *gets all sentimental* I love you guys! 

*ahem* Right, then. Sorry. Review if you like--I certainly don't mind…

****

Fa A Bhialainn Ann

__

By Veralidaine

Part 15 (woo-hoo!) 

__

So forget this cruel world

Where I belong

I'll just sit and wait

And sing my song.

And if one day you should see me 

In the crowd

Lend a hand and lift me

To your place in the cloud.

~ Nick Drake, _'Cello Song_, from the album _Five Leaves Left_, 1969

__

Fiona put her face in her hands, bringing her knees to her chest. She was scared. Not that she'd admit it; not to anyone. But it was dark and cold and miserable, and her clothes were dirty, soaked, and torn, as well as covered in blood. That last addition to the wreckage of her sundress--the one she'd been wearing on the way back from the beach--had come when she tried to pull at her chains and merely ended up digging the bonds into her wrists, cutting them shallowly but still causing bleeding. The cuffs around her wrists were just sharp enough to keep her from pulling, and just small enough to keep her hands from slipping through. 

She could hear rats scurrying around in the cell, which seriously bothered her, as she'd never been fond of the rodents. When she'd been small, she remembered visiting a friend of her mother's that lived in the poorer side of Dublin. It had been dirty there, and somewhat creepy, but the people were certainly friendly, so Fi hadn't cared. But then they passed a particularly nasty alleyway, and there were at least fifty rats scurrying about in that one area, and poor eight-year-old Fiona wanted nothing to do with it. The feeling had remained, even eight years later.

At any rate, Fi was miserable. She curled up as small as she could and let her hair fall around her face. Her throat and chest burned, and she coughed. She was scared and disoriented, and she felt sick. Most likely that sore throat she'd had the week previous to her kidnapping was the beginning of bronchitis or something equally pleasant. That would account for that lovely hacking cough she had going. Despite her fear, her temper was flaring up. She was furious with Voldemort, for so many reasons. She sat and fumed silently in the dark. She coughed again.

"Oh, I think I'm having a vision! Don't disturb my concentration…"

Fi rolled her eyes. This was the third proclamation of a "vision" that this Trelawney twit had made in the past hour. Well, Fi estimated that it had been an hour—it felt longer, but there was no watch to be had, and even if there had been, it was too dark to see. "Shut up, you."

There was an exasperated noise from the other side of the cell. "Now, is that really necessary? I might be foreseeing how we'll get out of here, so why don't you keep your negative energy to yourself so it won't interfere with my inner-light and clairvoyance!" She stated this all in a misty, wispy voice that was just barely tinted with annoyance.

Fiona, being a small-town country girl, had very little idea what this weirdo was on about. Or on. Hey, it was the seventies. Anything was possible. Fi sighed. "Look, I—"

"Will you _please _let me concentrate? Please?" Now she just sounded like an aggravated teenaged girl. Which is what she really was, Fi supposed. "It's important." She seemed to have realized the airy-fairy-ness of her voice had dissolved, for she cleared her throat and said, again in the misty voice, "Don't you wish to know what your future holds, my dear?"

It completely mystified Fi that this girl spoke to her as if she was a grandmother. Trelawney couldn't be more than probably seventeen. This was getting really stupid, and Fi's nerves were stretched to the breaking point as it was. "Will you shut it?" she said tiredly, working very hard to keep the anger from her voice.

There was an "Ommmm!" from the other side of the room. Fi shifted her sitting position and rolled her eyes, incredulous. What a mental case! Chains rattled and Trelawney, who had long chains clamped to her wrists and ankles, came crawling across the cell to Fiona, outline dim in the near-pitch-black room. 

Fi backed up, shoulders hitting the wall and forcing a good cough out of her lungs. "_What?_" she managed, once the coughing fit had resided and Trelawney had settled herself, with all her tinkling bangles, in front of Fi."What d'you want? Why can't you just keep your—your _clairvoyance _to yourself and stay _over there!?_"

Trelawney sighed. Bangles clicked. "I want to read your palm."

Her patience had just flown away. Fi couldn't help it. She sneered--and she tried not to do that, as it was a general personality characteristic of those in Slytherin, and she was still convinced that she was not worthy of that title. "You want to _what?_"

"Read your palm."

"What," Fi said, hardly able to keep a disbelieving laugh out of her voice, "no tea leaves handy?"

"Precisely." Fi just stared, unbelieving, as her left hand was taken and turned palm-up in the other girl's cold hands. A finger ran down her palm, from the web between her forefinger and thumb down to her wrist. "You have a long life line. This leads my inner-divinatory-powers to believe you will escape this. I will, too, because my palm states that I will live much longer than this."

Fi smirked. Oh, what was the point of arguing with this loon? Anyway, she needed some entertainment.

The misty voice had started again, and Fiona remained unimpressed. "And…Yes, yes, this is clear now. Even in this darkened dungeon, I can see…There's a man in your life, and—" Fi tried to pull her hand away, muttering indignantly, but Trelawney had an eerily strong grip. "—my dear, I see pain in your future. Yes, the mist of the alternate dimensions is clearing, the fog of time lifting…I can see—"

"Oh, _bloody hell!_" Fi jerked her hand away. "I see pain in _your _future, very soon, unless you get back over to your spot. Go be clairvoyant over there, away from me."

Trelawney sounded indignant. "Well, I think I _will _then. Don't say I didn't warn you! You will _suffer!_" She stretched the word "suffer" into a long, dramatic ending note of this rather ridiculous declaration. Fi rather strongly believed that one couldn't see the future if one tried, and this Trelawney was living proof. She would "_suffer_?" Tuh--what did Trelawney know, anyway. Truthfully, Fi was rather scared that she might be right. No, she might not die right away, but suffering in her future…It was easier to think of Trelawney as a fraud and not even consider the other possibility.

Fi shook her head, glaring in annoyance at the darkness in front of her. "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into, Irish girl!" Fi had to laugh at that, despite her worries and annoyance. It was a fairly weak insult. "You just wait! One of these days you'll—_gaaaaah_…" There was a choking noise from across the room. Fi wondered vaguely if she'd caught her neck in the chains. _Good. Maybe she'll shut up._

But she kept making noises. Fiona sat uncomfortably on the other side of the dungeon. Well, whatever was happening, Trelawney sounded as though she was choking. This wasn't good. Fi wanted to go help her out--well, the side of her that didn't want to strangle Trelawney herself for being such a complete nutcase and for trying to impose her clairvoyant rubbish onto Fi. But the only problem with the idea of crawling over was that her chains wouldn't allow her to reach the other wall, where she could see, through the dim light coming from under the door (it was a small crack, but it was all the light they had), Trelawney had collapsed. The girl seemed to be struggling, but Fiona couldn't see what it was. Suddenly, her noises and movement stopped and everything was silent, save for some ragged breathing on Fi's part. Maybe it was some big creature they'd released into the dungeon…What if it was a snake? Fi paled, if invisibly, in the dark. She didn't like snakes. Another reason why it mystified her that she was in Slytherin. 

Fi swallowed. She had to go see what it was…Plucking up her courage as best she could, she crawled across the floor towards Trelawney, feeling that she should at least see what was causing those noises—if there _was_ a snake in here, for example, that could strangle her, she wanted to know about it (well, and she would feel guilty if the girl was choking and she hadn't done anything to help). Her chains pulled tight on her wrist, giving her no more slack. She was still a good two feet away from Trelawney. Suddenly, she cried out as the rectangle of green light that was the door opened up and a masked figure that was quite obviously Lucius Malfoy strode in, followed by a figure with slouching posture, also masked in Death Eater uniform. Fi knew from his walk that it was Snape. They both looked a little perplexed by the sight in the dungeon.

Fiona turned and saw the light hit Trelawney. The girl's eyes, magnified by the ridiculous glasses she wore, were wide open, her head slumped onto her shoulder, and her mouth was sagging open. Fi wrinkled her nose—Trelawney was drooling on her robes. Fi wondered if she'd had a spasm of some sort. The two Death Eaters at the door also looked at a loss as to what to do. Suddenly, Trelawney's body shook a little and she started talking in a horribly low, cold voice:

"_The dark lord will find his end…end…in a boy…_" 

Fi raised her eyebrows, utterly gobsmacked. This was a prediction. She knew enough to realize that, fraud or not while conscious, this wasn't fake. She didn't know anyone who possessed the ability to control their voice in that manner.

"_the dark lord will find his end in a small…in a boy…The son of the Potters will be the downfall…The dark lord will find his end in the son…_" Trelawney twitched, eyes still glazed over and partially rolled back in her head. Fi just stared, willing her to shut up. She'd gone cold all over at the mention of James' last name, and had a very good idea who the other Potter might just be, as soon as she graduated and was able to marry James…

Another spasm shot through Trelawney's somewhat limp frame. "_The dark lord will find his end in the son of the Potters…_" 

With that, Trelawney slumped over onto the floor in what looked like a dead faint.

Fi stared, dumbstruck, at the form lying motionless on the mildew-covered floor, illuminated by the green light. Considerably less green light than there had been a moment ago—Fi turned and her eyes widened momentarily, but she didn't scream. Somehow, she'd known what she'd see. 

Voldemort was standing in the doorway, looking very intrigued with what he'd apparently just witnessed. The two Death Eaters behind him, Snape and Malfoy, looked a bit confused. Voldemort grinned in a way that made the hair on the back of Fi's neck stand up. "Well. She _was_ useful. I do believe that was her first prediction."

Trelawney's words echoed in Fi's mind: _The son of the Potters will be the downfall—the dark lord will find his end in the son of the Potters…_

"Now…Who is this Potter person? He's at Hogwarts, is he not?"

Malfoy's masked head turned toward Voldemort. "Yes, my lord," he said silkily. Fi snorted. What, was he Voldemort's pet? "James Potter. He's in Severus' year at Hogwarts. A Gryffindor."

"Well, obviously."

Malfoy looked embarrassed. "Yes…Obviously…" He cleared his throat. "We could kill him," he said, like one offering to make a run to the store for something.

Fi gasped. _James? _

Voldemort looked thoughtful. "No…He's not the only important one. It's his son we need to worry about. And his future wife." 

"Yes, but…" Lucius was choosing his words carefully. "If we kill him, he can't have a son, or a wife, in the future."

"I know that," Voldemort said impatiently. "But we can't go killing him now. It would be a mistake. We don't want that Muggle-loving embarrassment of a wizard sniffing around, trying to find some sort of clue as to my whereabouts."

Lucius nodded. "Of course, my lord. Killing the Head Boy--"

Snape muttered, "Potter's Head Boy? Oh, does it ever _end?_"

"What was that, Severus?" Voldemort said in a deadly soft voice. Snape backed away.

"Nothing, my lord."

"Good." He shifted his weight, obviously unused to standing during such a conference. "As Lucius was saying, killing the Head Boy would cause a bit of a disruption. Just keep an eye on him. We'll deal with him after he's graduated. By then, disappearances won't be so unusual." He smiled in his awful way and Fi shuddered, making a promise that, on the off-chance that she escaped with her life, she'd warn James (and Lily) about this.

Voldemort turned, but halfway out the doorway, he spun around to face Fiona again. "Oh, and Mudblood--you will later be working with the oversized iguana in the other dungeons--we have some interesting attack plans we need communicated to the beast. I'd suggest you simply do as you're told, and then your mother will remain intact for the time being." 

Fi just stared at him blankly, not wanting him to know how effective that last comment about her mother was. After a moment, the Dark Lord became bored with her silence and left with Malfoy, leaving Snape as guard with the instructions to leave the smallish barred window in the door open so as to observe any more predictions that Trelawney might have. Fi gave Snape a death-glare and turned around, facing the darkened dungeon and unconscious Trelawney, and turning her back to Snape and the green light. A cough racked her chest, burning and making an unpleasant sensation of bubbling liquid in her lungs.

"You ill?" 

Fi turned halfway towards Snape, fighting down a sneer, determined to remain aloof. "What do you care?" She couldn't help allowing a little anger into her voice.

Snape sighed. "You're no good dead to him dead, you know." He fidgeted, making a grating noise with his feet on the stone floor. "He'd have to cure you if you're ill. You don't have to sit here and suffer like an idiot."

Fi snorted. "Snape, he doesn't care. And personally, I druther be dead than working with you lot." Fi shivered miserably, partly from the idea of Voldemort, and partly because she was going into rather nasty hot and cold flashes. "I tried working out a deal with the dragon the other day, but he wouldn't eat me since I can speak to him."

There was a snort from the other side of the dungeon door. "McLellan, you always were a whiner, weren't you?" He shifted again, making the grating noise. "It's _all about you_, isn't it?."

Fi was tempted, for a fraction of a second, to respond as Sirius had when Sapphira accused him of the same affliction--thinking that the world revolved around oneself--but decided that it would not have gone over well, given the current company. "Yes? And?" was not the right answer, for the moment. Besides, she didn't want to dignify his comments with any sort of verbal response. However, if he got close enough, a physical response that would result in severe pain on Snape's part was all too acceptable, Fi thought.

After a moment of her silence, Snape sighed loudly again. "I don't know why you're fretting. Knowing Potter, he'll show up with his little troop of Gryffindor morons, and I'm sure the werewolf will carry you off into the sunset. Mind," he said, with a sneer playing about his voice so obviously she could almost see it on his greasy face, "there is the small matter of getting past the Dementors, guards, and Voldemort himself, but I'm sure they'll think of something."

Fi's lips remained sealed, however painfully. She had so many good insulting responses to everything he'd said, but she kept quiet, not wanting to have anything to do with him. After a moment, she decided she needed to say one thing: "Look, Snape, you're absolutely detestable. You always _have been _absolutely detestable, but now the detestability factor has gone up a considerable amount. I've no idea what possessed you to join ranks with these…monsters…but a word of advice--you're on the losing side."

"Oh?" Snape chuckled, obviously amused at this little outburst, which he'd worked so hard to get. 

"Yes," Fi insisted, not facing the door, still. "It goes back as far as anyone can remember. In fairy tales, legends, and often in reality. Good triumphs over evil." Fi turned her head and glared at him over her hunched shoulder. "And you know perfectly well which side you're on right now. There's no confusion. Voldemort even knows he's evil." She raised an eyebrow. "And if Princess Tea-Leaves here is at all correct, you're going to get your arses kicked by James Potter's son." She smirked. "And I cannot _wait _to see that." 

"Oh, can't you?" Snape asked in a strange voice.

Fi turned her back to him. "You lot are as good as done for. I may not live to see the day when you all are put into Azkaban, or whatever man-made hell they reserve for your type, but it'll happen. And you've no idea how much satisfaction the Wizarding world will get out of it."

"My guess is, the Wizarding world has no clue what they'll be dealing with." He cleared his throat. "They've no idea what they're _currently _dealing with. This is only the beginning. You think Annelle was the worst it's going to get? I--"

"_Shut up_. You're not allowed to talk to me about Annelle." Fi's voice held such frigidity that Snape did as he was told. For a moment.

"All I'm trying to say, _McLellan_, is that things are not headed for the better." He glanced through the small, barred window at her, eyes burning into her back. "Now that he's got Potter's name, he and Lily are dead. Guaranteed."

"Don't say such things."

Snape shrugged. "I hate to tell you this, McLellan, but this obviously isn't a fairy tale." He started to slide down the window cover, obviously sure that Trelawney wasn't going to have any more episodes. "And even if it was, James and Lily obviously aren't the heroes."

And Fiona was plunged into darkness again.

*

Darkly canopied tree branches swayed in a light wind that made soft whistling noises as it flew through the tree limbs. It was obviously nearing the end of autumn--though the trees still wore their crowns of colorful leaves, most had fallen and were carpeting the cold ground in a blanket rapidly turning from vibrant yellows, oranges, and reds to brown and black. Remus' head turned toward the sound of crunching leaves, only to discover Peter the rat scurrying through the fallen leaves toward his knapsack for sleep, having obviously just returned from a small trip to the designated latrine. Peter seemed to enjoy sleeping in his bag, as he was small enough to do so, and Remus supposed it was because he was nestled in with the Irish chocolate bars he'd managed to buy before they left to find him. Remus rolled his eyes and leaned back against his tree again, reassured that, for the time being, _they_ were safe, even if their food supply was in jeopardy. He glanced around their "camp."

Sapphira and Lily were sleeping against the same ancient tree trunk, which was at least six feet wide, with their heads leaning together, Lily snoring louder than her appearance would lead one to believe was possible, and Sapphira looking as though somebody had recently knocked her unconscious. It had been a very long day of walking, and both the girls were exhausted, as they had been carrying supplies and trudging through the forest all day (Sirius and James had gone ahead of the group to scout in Animagus form, and Peter had mysteriously disappeared, presumably to follow them, so the supply-carrying was handled by the girls and Remus). It was exhausting, due to their need to make as little noise as was possible--Remus knew from personal experience, but felt no need to tell the others in detail, of the dangerous creatures that made the forest their home--as they slowly progressed through the forest. Exactly where they were headed, Remus wasn't quite sure. And now he felt guilty again, leading the lot of them through dangerous territory, with only the faint idea that a dream, of all things, had given him. 

Sapphira pulled her legs up to her chest, brow furrowed in her sleep, and then all was silent again, save for Lily's snoring, and the candy wrapper crinkling emanating from Peter's nest. The lot of them were exhausted--Remus had helped with supplies and such, but he had been a bit exhausted himself. During his transformations, he became nocturnal in a way, and so his energy came to him at night for a few days, thus the problems adjusting to the schedule every month at school. He had been named lookout for the night, due to the fact that he couldn't sleep.

It was their second night in a row staying in the Forbidden Forest, and though the full moon wasn't an issue as of tonight, Remus' nerves were already completely jangled, and he was very, very hungry. He didn't dare delve into their food supply; Peter had already dangerously depleted what little they had left, and so they were extremely careful about what they ate, and how much. Sirius had been the most furious with the shorter boy when it had happened--Peter had been "guarding" the camp while Remus searched for firewood (really, this time), and had decided on a little snack. The idea of a limited food supply hadn't occurred to him, and when Sirius returned from doing a bit of scouting with James to find that dinner was insufficient, he demanded to know why. A terrific row had ensued, in which Peter cringed and scurried around in a very rodent-like manner, and Sirius used a big growling voice to reprimand him. The whole affair was ended when Sapphira, thankfully, took Sirius' hand and decided that the two of them should go for a walk 'til he calmed down. Sirius agreed, and came back in considerably more cheerful spirits than when he'd left. 

Remus sat up and decided to check on the food supply. They had a few apples--they'd run into a female centaur with her foal who, for some odd reason, recognized Remus, and showed them an unenchanted apple tree (you couldn't just eat whatever you wanted, when in the forbidden forest) that was safe to eat from--half a loaf of bread, which was getting depressingly stale, and a few odds and ends, including some of that fruit bread that they'd been served at the Irish pub. Remus suspected that Peter had contributed that last bit, owing to his tendency to snatch up any food he could for later. _Packrat,_ Remus thought wryly. 

The leaves really did crunch this time. Remus stood slowly, not making any noise as he did so, and for once in his life grateful of a single instinct that came with his…affliction. Fortunately, it was a large black dog and a stag that stepped into their clearing, and not an Acromantula--he'd run into those before--or, worse yet, a Lethifold…He shook his head. He'd only ever seen--well, felt--one, but it was enough for two lifetimes. He'd been lucky enough, and the thing had been stupid enough, and he'd been attacked while conscious and had fought it off as a werewolf in time to escape. Remus grimaced. He never wanted to see one again. He'd spent time convincing himself that it had been a fluke; that they were usually found in tropical areas, and there was probably just that one in the forest. After all, it went against everything in the books…But he was still uneasy…And the unpleasant sensation of a warm, suffocating presence was enough to give his human self nightmares for years after the actual attack. 

Technically, there was only one record of an escape from a Lethifold attack, but given his current social status, he wasn't about to correct that. Not even to Dumbledore, as he wasn't even supposed to be in the Forest at the time, under the headmaster's strict order. He didn't want to betray his trust, after being admitted to this school. It was one of the few times he'd managed to dodge out of James and Sirius' care and wandered off by himself (as he remembered it, Peter had gotten stuck in a squirrel nest). That, if not also his worries about biting someone, kept him close to James and Sirius every time he transformed. Even his feral instincts didn't want to suffocate.

The large black dog shook himself, trying to get the leaves and burrs out of his black fur, but gave up after a few minutes, obviously tired of shaking and getting nowhere. With a strangely fluid motion, he was Sirius the annoying seventeen-year-old again, and began picking seed pods, leaves, and burrs out of his matted hair with a pained expression on his face. James followed suit, however his short fur did not allow for nearly as much of a problem. He pushed his glasses up his nose and turned to Remus. "Three o'clock and all's well."

Remus nodded, sliding down the tree trunk behind him and slumping to the ground, sighing. Sirius noticed this and cleared his throat. "Don't be depressed, Moony. We'll find her."

Remus dropped his hands to his sides, idly picking up a twig and twirling it between dirty fingers. "It's been three days--two for you--and I'm beginning to wonder if I _am _going crackers." He offered a small, tired smile to Sirius, whose lips twitched. "Honestly…I've no idea what I'm doing anymore," Remus muttered dejectedly. "It's getting stupid."

James put a hand on his shoulder, sitting down next to him and leaning against his tree. "It's not stupid. We all want to find her."

"Well, of course…But I'm beginning to wonder just what I was thinking when I started this on the basis of a weird dream I had. I mean…" He flailed around for the words. "I mean, it seemed right at the time…But now I'm starting to have doubts." He sighed raggedly. "I just want to find her. I don't know why she's been taken, but we have to get her back."

A twig snapped to their right and all three boys turned instinctively toward it, Sirius with his wand out. The leaf carpet rustled and Peter appeared, seemingly growing out of the ground. He looked very pale and his eyes were wide. "M-Moony, I th-think you might want t-to have a look at th-this…"

Leaving James to keep watch over the girls, Sirius and Remus followed Peter quietly. The shorter boy kept looking back to make sure they were still following as he led them along a complex route through bramble bushes, thickly dense areas of trees, and even once around an old, unused hut that had been claimed by the forest over the years, leaving only the chimney and a few stone walls standing. Finally, there was a rise in the path they were on, and Remus saw light over the top of the hill they were climbing. It was oddly familiar…

Peter stopped at the top of the hill, looking terribly fearful, and Sirius, with a grim look on his face, looked at Remus and raised his eyebrows. Remus nodded and started trudging up the hill. His feet automatically avoided the fallen leaves and twigs that might make noise, making Sirius, who was quiet himself, seem loud. At the top of the hill, Remus stared down into the valley below and his breath caught in his throat. 

It was the castle.

Mind, there were no windows and therefore no Fi to be seen, but it was a castle, nonetheless. White, thick, eerie fog surrounded the castle, trapped in the deep valley by the tall hills surrounding it. It was deathly cold, standing at the edge of this basin, and the fog was slowly creeping up toward them, lapping the sides of the hill like waves from some ghostly lake. It didn't fade away into the sky, as most fogs did…For some reason, it was like water. The surface was flat, engulfing the entire castle but leaving the spires of the tallest towers protruding from the top of the hazy fog-lake. Remus automatically took a step back, tripping over a small stone, which rolled down the hill toward the forest, making an avalanche's noise in the silence of the night. He looked back behind him, nerves positively electrified. The forest was quiet and dark, except for the tree trunks dimly illuminated by the moon's reflection on the strange fog. 

Sirius, an incredulous expression on his face, picked up another small rock like the one that had been kicked down the hill, and tossed it gently into the fog. Unbelievably, it rippled, like water, and the stone made no noise of contact with the ground. Peter whimpered, and Sirius shot him a look. "If you don't want to stay," he muttered, but the sound of his voice was grating on their ears in the dead silence, "you can head back to camp. I remember the way back--we'll be along in a bit. Remus and I need to check this out." 

Peter nodded and, in the blink of an eye, was a rat, scurrying down the rocky slope toward the trees. Remus glanced at Sirius, whose eyes followed Peter's progress, finally losing him in the brush, and then they locked eyes. Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Is this the castle?"

Remus nodded. "Yeah." He turned toward the lake of mist. "Only a lot foggier."

Sirius grimaced, and tossed another rock into the fog. The ripples stretched out across the "lake," lapping against the shore that was the hill they stood on. It was strange to see a cloud behaving with the same properties as water. Sirius bit his lip, brushing his bangs out of his face. "This is dodgy, this is." He reached a hand down toward the surface of the fog and jerked it back almost immediately. "_Damn_, but that's cold…"

"Is it?" Remus asked vaguely, starting to get an idea of what this was. Sirius picked up a booted foot tentatively, obviously preparing to put it in the fog, but Remus grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Bad idea," he muttered, as Sirius glanced at him curiously. 

"Why?"

Remus frowned for a moment and glanced around, looking for plant life. Oddly enough, only rocks surrounded the basin that held the castle and the freezing fog-lake. There were no plants--only gravelly substance. Not even grass. Not even _weeds_. He stepped down the hill a few feet, boots crunching over the gravel, and plucked up a long-stemmed weed with a small, closed flower bud on the tip. 

Remus crunched back up the hill, and Sirius let out a disbelieving snort. "Picking flowers, Moony? What, you want to give them to her when we dash in and rescue her?" Remus shot him a look and, not saying anything, trudged carefully down to the edge of the fog, dipping the weed's tip into the strangely definite surface. The stem of the thing burned cold in his hand, and he nearly dropped it, but instead backed carefully up the gravelly hill, carrying the weed with him. He held it up in front of his face to show Sirius, and he gasped.

It had turned black. 

The bud had completely shriveled, and the stem had curled, letting the death-blackened leaves wilt into nothing and the bud, once a nice spring-green, dangling limply from the edge of a now withered stem. Sirius' eyes widened and he swallowed roughly, eyes taking in the now-dead plant. "Well," he said hoarsely. 

Remus nodded. "I wondered why there were so few guards."

"What's the need, with that fog?" Sirius said quietly, looking out over the lake of fog to the other side of the valley. More trees, and more darkness. "I'd never known how bloody _big _this forest is."

"Hmm." Remus said. This new information about the fog was not helping him. What if the fog was there all throughout the day, too? This stuff, whatever it was, withdrew the life from whatever touched it. If it was there twenty-four hours a day, how were they supposed to get to the castle? Somehow, Remus suspected that a Patronus wouldn't do the trick…

It was at that moment that Sirius gave a very canine yelp and started backing away, eyes on something behind Remus. Remus turned around and saw something--well, three somethings--emerging from the fog-lake. The three somethings were about nine feet tall and wore hooded robes, and seemed to glide along the ground. The cold from the fog worsened as the things came closer, but both Remus and Sirius were absolutely rooted to the spot, having neither seen nor experienced Dementors before. Finally, as the things were close enough to where they began reaching out with long, black-robed arms, Sirius bellowed, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

A silver dog of enormous size erupted from his wand tip, charging down the Dementors ferociously. Sirius grabbed Remus' shoulder with fear-stiffened fingers, bringing him out of the trance, and both boys ran for their lives back toward the trees, not once looking back. Burrs and sharp, prickly seed-pods caught in their hair and the thorns of nearby trees and bramble bushes scraped at them, but they were far too terrified to notice. Halfway to the camp, the cold had subsided and they stopped, having reached the deserted and ancient cabin they'd seen before. Gasping for breath, they both leaned against the chimney, shaking enough that Remus was afraid they'd cause the rickety stone structure to topple over onto their heads. 

Sirius was breathing in ragged gasps, eyes wide and fearful. Remus turned to look at him, knowing that he, himself, was in a comparable condition. "You alright?"

Sirius turned very round eyes on him and shook his head rapidly in a very emphatic "no!" Swallowing, Sirius slumped down onto the ground, head leaning back against the stone. He closed his mouth, stopping the panting, but continued to breathe hard through his nose, the white around his pupils flashing as he glanced around frantically, like a scared animal. Sighing, and hoping his heart rate would return to normal before he went into cardiac arrest, Remus slumped down next to Sirius, also unable to keep from searching frantically for whatever might try to kill them next. 

After a moment, Sirius stuttered (a first, as Remus had never actually seen Sirius seem remotely afraid, much less stutter), "W-well…now w-we know why it's th-the bloody _Forbidden_ Forest, d-don't we?"

Remus smiled weakly. "Yeah," he said hoarsely. He disapprovingly realized that he was still shaking. Sirius was, too, though. "So…Er…Thanks for doing the…The Patronus." He swallowed. "I was sort of…out of it."

Sirius, eyes still wide and staring straight ahead, nodded numbly. "Hey, I was going to step in that bleeding _fog_. Let's just make a deal never to wander around dangerous things alone, a'right? We're both such idiots; it could be dangerous." He ran a trembling hand through his hair and shuddered violently.

Remus clenched his jaw together, thinking of what could have happened if Sirius hadn't woken up and cast his Patronus. He cleared his throat. "If you don't want to come when I try to get in the castle…"

Sirius shook his head determinedly. "No…I'm coming."

Remus nodded slowly. "If you're…sure."

Sirius just kept staring straight ahead. "Yeah. But we need to keep the girls at the camp. I don't think it would be good for them to come." He ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair again, making it stick up in what would have been a comical way, had the circumstances been different.

Remus smiled weakly again. "Oh, yeah, _you _try telling them they can't come." Sirius nodded, his mind elsewhere. Remus glanced at him. "What?"

Sirius snorted. "'What?' What d'you mean, bloody '_what?'_" He gave a hoarse, mirthless laugh. "We nearly had our bloody _souls_ sucked out through our _mouths_, and you say, 'what?'"

Remus shrugged. "Sorry."

Sirius shook his head apologetically. "No…I didn't mean to snap or anything--'Phira says I do that too much--but, really…" He ran a hand, still shaking, through his hair. "Bloody hell." He glanced at Remus, eyes hollow. "I always knew Dementors were bad news. But this…This was downright horrible. I don't _ever _want to see a Dementor again. Not for as long as I live. God…" His body took on another violent tremor and he swore quite creatively. 

Remus swallowed roughly. "Never thought I'd see the day," he said quietly.

Mistake. "Look, it's not my fault I'm a little freaked out by this, okay?" Sirius said loudly, eyes blazing. "I'm lucky to still have my _soul_, here!"

__

Really tactful, there, Lupin, Remus thought, bitterly. "No, Sirius, I didn't mean to imply…"

Sirius nodded, breathing loudly through his nose and releasing his tensed muscles. "I know, I know. Sorry."

Remus stared at the ground a few feet away, tracing the lines of a leaf there with his eyes. "I was bloody scared as well," he muttered mildly. "I'm not meaning to make it sound like you _shouldn't _be scared. I mean, James, the ultimate Gryffindor hero-boy, would have run all the way back to camp squealing like Peter."

"Kind of like we did?" Sirius asked, a small smile tugging at his lips. 

"Yeah, sort of." Remus muttered. "But he'd have done it in a much more manly fashion, of course."

"Of course." 

It was silent for a few minutes, then Sirius started chuckling. Remus wondered vaguely if his friend had completely lost it, but Sirius brushed his hair out of his eyes and said, "I think I bloody _wet _myself."

Remus sniggered. "Join the club. At least we waited 'til we saw the Dementors--Peter didn't even last _that_ long."

Sirius grinned, rather weakly, but a grin nonetheless. "Yeah, but let's not tell the girls."

It was silent for a few minutes, both boys having gone glassy-eyed in remembrance of what they'd just encountered. Finally, Sirius cleared his throat and stood up, brushing the dirt and leaves from his bramble-torn jeans. "Er…Let's head back to camp."

Remus stood up with a groan and tried to ignore the protest his muscles gave to such treatment. "Sounds good."

Suddenly, Sirius stopped, frowning in thought. "Hey…Remus…"

"Hmm?"

"What's today's date?"

Remus thought hard. He'd left on…What had it been, the twenty-seventh? That meant that today was…The thirtieth. And that meant--_Oh, bugger._ "As of midnight, it's been the thirty-first. The day before school starts."

"Bugger."

"Yep." Remus sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Let's just head back to camp. I don't want to think about it."

The trip through the forest was silent, both boys' eyes frantically flitting around them, searching for any other nasty surprises that might come their way. They were too busy looking for dangerous creatures and Dementors to notice the bleeding cuts on their legs and the tears in their clothing from the thorns and brambles in their path. Eventually, they found the clearing, where James had started a smallish fire and Peter was sitting next to it, poking the embers with a stick. Lily and Sapphira were awake, and Remus confusedly glanced at his watch, only to discover that it was nearly five-thirty in the morning. 

They stumbled through the brush into the clearing and everyone there gasped audibly. Sapphira punctuated this with a "Holy _shit! _What happened to _you?_"


End file.
